The Intersection of Digital Health, Climate Change, and Nursing Informatics
Hanna von Gerich, Lorraine J. Block, Sang Bin You, Shauna Davies, Erika Lozada-Perezmitre, Brigitte Fong Yeong Woo, Irem Ozbay, Nader Alnomasy, Sena Chae, Jisan Lee, Mifetika Lukitasari, Mikael Helenius, Pankaj Vyas, Laura-Maria Peltonen, Zerina Lokmic-TomkinsSummary
Climate change is a threat to global health. While no one is immune to these effects, their burden falls heaviest on the most vulnerable populations. Nurses are positioned as front-line respondents to these health challenges. Nursing informaticians support the efforts to adapt and mitigate climate change-related health impacts through developing and implementing digital health technologies. This position paper by the International Medical Informatics Association – Student and Emerging Professionals (IMIA-SEP) working group focuses on the importance of nursing informatics and digital health in building more sustainable and resilient strategies to address these global health threats. We present examples of digital health as a tool for climate resilience and discuss the key challenges and considerations. Finally, we present policy recommendations and outline future research areas to support a more sustainable digital future.