Examination of environmental literacy levels of nursing students in terms of various variables

Environmental literacy, defined as the capacity of the individual to transform environmental knowledge into behavior, is used to identify people who have these characteristics, can make the right decisions about the environment, make their lives more sustainable. Nowadays, the increasing environmental problems increase the importance of raising environmental literate individuals. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the environmental literacy levels of Sinop University School of Health Nursing Department students in terms of various variables. The sample of this descriptive research consisted of 292 people, 204 of which were women and 88 were men. Data were collected via sociodemographic features form and environmental literacy scale. SPSS 22.0 package program was utilized for data analysis. As a result of the study it was found that the nursing students' environmental knowledge sub-dimension scores was 12.23±2.96, environmental attitude sub-dimension was 66.11±12.25, environmental behaviour sub-dimension was 41.22±6.38 and environmental perception sub-dimension was 10.26±2.08. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the mean scores of the students' environmental knowledge sub-dimension differ according to the class level and the educational level of the father and this difference was statistically significant (p<0,05). In the environmental attitude sub-dimension, it was found that gender, age and talking about the environment in the family caused a statistically significant difference in the students' mean scores (p<0,05). When the environmental behavior sub-dimension was analyzed, it was found that class level, age, education about the environment, being in an environmental project, talking about the environment in the family caused a statistically significant difference in the students' scores (p<0,05). In the environmental perception sub-dimension, it was determined that the source of obtaining information about the environment and the membership status of environmental non-governmental organizations caused a statistically significant difference in the students' scores (p<0,05). As a result of the research, it was found that the environmental literacy levels of nursing students are at a medium level. In line with this result, it is recommended to plan interventional studies that will improve the environmental literacy levels of students and to make necessary arrangements in the course contents.