Taking Action: Top 10 Priorities for Nurses to Protect Health in a Changing Climate

This book could not be more timely. It arms the nursing community with science, tools, and urgency to meet this moment—and to lead. We need nurses not only at the bedside but also in the boardroom, in the classroom, in policy circles, and in public dialogue—shaping how we prepare, how we adapt, and how we protect health in a warming world.

Sen. Bill Frist, MD
Chair, Global Board, The Nature Conservancy
Former US Senate Majority Leader
Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeon

This is more than a book—it’s a rallying cry. If you believe that nursing holds the key to solving today’s most complex health challenges, you’ll find here a road map to turn conviction into impact. Read it, share it, and join the movement that is redefining what it means to care.

Cole Edmundson, DNP, RN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer, Nurses Boards Coalition

This timely collection elevates nursing’s critical role in confronting the climate crisis. For nurses, healthcare providers, and anyone working at the intersection of climate and health, this book is essential reading. It offers the insight and urgency needed to lead change, build resilience, and shape a healthier, more just future for all.

Sue Anne Bell, PhD, FNP-BC, FAAN
Associate Professor, University of Michigan School of Nursing

Taking Action: Top 10 Priorities for Nurses to Protect Health in a Changing Climate offers nurses a clear, evidence-based road map for responding to one of the most significant public health challenges of our time. Written as a practical and nonpolitical guide, the book translates the latest science into actionable strategies, helping nurses understand and address the ways climate-driven events affect the health of the public.

Authors Sue Hassmiller and Katie Huffling—together with distinguished experts across nursing and environmental health—provide concrete recommendations for strengthening climate resilience, implementing effective clinical and community interventions, advancing sustainability within healthcare systems, and advocating for policies that protect population health.

At a moment when the impacts of climate change are increasingly visible in clinical practice and community outcomes, nurses’ leadership is essential. This book empowers nursing professionals to use their trusted voice and expertise to help safeguard the health of individuals, families, and communities today, while contributing to a healthier, more stable future for generations to come.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Chapter 1: Preparing for Disasters and Public Health Emergencies
• Chapter 2: Building Resilience in Communities
• Chapter 3: Building Resilience in Health Systems
• Chapter 4: Transforming Healthy Systems for Sustainable Care Delivery
• Chapter 5: Transforming Nursing Education
• Chapter 6: Turning Care Into Climate Mitigation Solutions
• Chapter 7: Building Nursing Research Capacity
• Chapter 8: Nursing Organizations Driving Climate Solutions
• Chapter 9: Nurses’ Voice in Climate Advocacy and Communication
• Chapter 10: Collaborating Globally
• Appendix A: Climate Advocacy: How to Talk to a Legislator
• Appendix B: Insight to Impact: Everyday Actions for Climate-Informed Nursing Care
• Appendix C: Climate Positive Checklist for Nurses
• Appendix D: PACER Framework and Model for Promoting Planetary Health
• Appendix E: Chapter Resource Guide

AVAILABLE ON THE SIGMA REPOSITORY

• Chapter 1: Preparing for Disasters and Public Health Emergencies

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Founder and Principal of Sulu Coaching and Consulting with a coaching practice focused on nurses. She is a Professor of Nursing at Florida State University and adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has devoted her career to strengthening the nursing profession, improving population health, and advancing health equity. During her 25 years at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, she shaped and led the Foundation’s nursing strategies in an effort to create a high quality of care in the United States for people, families, and communities.

Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN, is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and the Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), the leading global nursing organization focused on the intersection of human and planetary health. With ANHE, she works with nurses and nursing organizations around the globe to elevate environmental health issues amongst the nursing profession. She is a passionate supporter of nurse-led advocacy in support of healthier environments for all and strongly believes in the power of nursing to create positive change.