ABSTRACT
AIM: This study aimed to investigate the Integrating Sustainability Development Education Program in Nursing to Challenge Practice Among Nursing Interns in Health Care. BACKGROUND: The combination of sustainable development and climate change in health care delivery benefits from the apparent environmental changes. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The quasi-experimental, cross-sectional, comparative study included 160 nursing interns who completed the intervention. Both genders were assigned to Saudi (N = 80) and Egyptian nursing interns (N = 80). Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which included the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire and the Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was found between student nurses' knowledge, attitude and behaviour during pre-intervention and post-intervention, as well as in student nurses' sustainability development dimension effectiveness after than before program implementation. CONCLUSION: The program had a significant effect on all sustainability development domains and a large effect on total sustainability development during post-intervention. This study recommended that educational programs can upgrade sustainability development and challenge practice levels. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Sustainable development is the future of management and is the next phase of management innovation. Sustainability, in the context of health care, is about progress in high-quality patient care delivery for all by promoting the three elements of sustainable development: environmental, social and financial. Nurses play a significant leadership role in addressing environmental sustainability and climate change.
