DNP lecture focuses on behavior change for climate action

Caroly Shumway, PhD, executive director for the Center for Behavior and Climate, delivered the keynote lecture at the DNP Enhancement & Enrichment Programming (DEEP) Day, which is designed to foster relationships and engagement among the school’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students. The presentation, which also served as the 5th annual Planetary Health Lectureship, was held Jan. 30.

“What I hope to convey today is how important our connections are to nature and to each other, and how an understanding of these connections can help you be more effective in talking to your patients, your family and your friends about climate and health,” said Shumway.

Shumway, who has served across disciplines including oceanography and neuroscience, has a long-held interest in connections and communication, including those between humans, animals and nature.

“In modern culture there’s a separation between the individual and nature, as well as a separation between the individual and community,” said Shumway. “In biology, there is no such separation — it’s a fact. We are all connected. We are all part of nature, and we are all part of our community.”

She recommended legacy motivation, social norms and collective efficacy as tactics to mitigate disconnection and climate fear or apathy, and emphasized the power of nurses to act on climate change. “You are what is called a credible messenger whom your audience trusts,” said Shumway. “You are the most trusted profession in the country.”

Following the lecture, Teddie Potter, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, the School of Nursing’s director of the Center for Planetary Health and Environmental Justice, moderated a panel with nurses who discussed how these ideas can be applied.

Clinical Associate Professor Joanne Donnelly, DNP, APRN, CRNA, FAANA, discussed the climate impacts the nurse-anesthesia profession has in the context of a hospital.

“We use 33% of all the plastics in a hospital. Our impact, if we choose to use it, is huge,” said Donnelly, noting that in the last five years nurse-anesthesia students have led 13 DNP projects related to planetary health. “You are the messengers for the change, for the social bridge that needs to happen for planetary health.”

Associate Professor Leso Munala, PhD, MSW, shared how her research has revealed the connections between climate change and gender-based violence, with a focus on East Africa, where the majority of the population relies on agriculture in some way. Women and girls tend to bear the brunt of extreme weather impacts, her research has shown.

“We’re seeing real impacts on health in terms of increased violence in the home, disruption of education, increased involvement in transactional sexual relationships and forced early marriages,” said Munala.

Clinical Assistant Professor Angelica Walton, DNP, RN, focuses on “ecosocial restoration — work that is focused on restoring our social relationship with the ecosystems we are a part of.” One example of her work is leading outdoor trips to the Boundary Waters.

Kent Boyd, DNP, RN, climate adaptation, resilience, and public health extension educator with the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, engages with communities across the state on climate change, focused on preparation, prevention and adaptation.

Throughout her remarks, Shumway shared the connection between her work at the Center for Behavior and Climate and the work of her grandfather, Roger Revelle, one of the first scientists to identify climate change in the 1950s. She found hope in the power of an individual — like her grandfather — to influence change and connection.

“Recognize your own power and your own strength. Everybody here can make a difference on climate change,” said Shumway.