THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS, CONCERN, AND PREPAREDNESS LEVELS

Introduction: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between climate change awareness, climate change anxiety, and climate change preparedness levels among health sciences students and newly employed young health professionals. Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted between February and August 2025 with participants who took part in the Erasmus+ EcoHealth: A Sustainable World with Health Professionals project, supported by the European Union Erasmus+ KA154 programme. A total of 91 participants were included in the study. Data were collected using the Climate Change Awareness Scale, the Climate Change Anxiety Scale, and the Climate Change Preparedness Form. Independent Samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA, Mann–Whitney U test, and Kruskal–Wallis test were used for data analysis. Results: The participants’ levels of climate change awareness and concern were found to be high. Regarding preparedness for climate change, the highest mean scores were observed in the areas of personal responsibility, risk knowledge, and local risk awareness, while the lowest scores were in local participation and neighbor solidarity. A positive and significant relationship was found between participants’ awareness scores and their concern and preparedness scores. Nursing students’ preparedness levels for climate change were significantly higher than those of other health professions. Conclusions: The findings indicate that higher awareness levels may increase both concern and preparedness behaviors. It is recommended that environmental health, sustainability, and climate change adaptation topics be incorporated into health sciences curricula to enhance students’ knowledge, awareness, and preparedness regarding climate change.