The climate change awareness among hospital employees working at a state hospital

M.Sc. THESIS THE CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS AMONG HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES WORKING AT A STATE HOSPITAL Veysel ABALI Kırsehir Ahi Evran University Institute of Health Sciences Department of Nursing Master Programme of Public Health Nursing Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Gizem Deniz BUYUKSOY The aim of this study is to determine climate change awareness among hospital employees working in a state hospital. The targeted population of this descriptive and exploratory study is 1649 employees working at Nevşehir State Hospital. The sample of the study was calculated as 333 using the known universe sample formula. The sample was determined by the stratified sampling method based on professions. The data were collected between February and July 2024 through face-to-face interviews. The data collection tools included an introductory characteristics form, which queries sociodemographic attributes, and the Climate Change Awareness Scale (CCAS). Data analysis involved descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, as well as inferential statistical methods including the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc comparisons. Ethics committee approval, institutional permission, and written and verbal consent from the participants were obtained for the study. 42.7% of the participants were aged between 30 and 39, 56.8% of them were female, 28.8% of them were nurses, 59.2% of them were bachelor's degree graduates, and 60.4% of them were married. Additionally, 39.3% had been working for 1–5 years, 30.9% were employed in the emergency department, and 67.3% worked in a shift-based system. The participants' total CCAS score average in the study was 228.11±19.32, Climate Change Awareness Sub-Dimension score was 37.88±4.96, Problem Perception Sub-Dimension score was 21.74±2.78, Knowledge on Causes of Climate Change Sub-Dimension score was 40.01±4.26, Climate Change Concern Sub-Dimension score was 48.97±4.70, and Expectations from Behaviors and Policies Sub-Dimension score was 79.51±7.09. It was determined that the participants had a high level of climate change awareness.There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in CCAS total and sub-dimension scores based on variables such as gender, profession, education level, perceived monthly income, marital status, parenthood status, years of professional experience, and the department where participants worked. It is recommended that studies be planned to support climate change awareness in health institutions and to examine climate change awareness in different sociocultural groups. August 2025, 70 Pages. Keywords: Awareness, Public health nursing, Personnel hospital, Climate change