A nursing socio-environmental approach for acute pesticide poisoning: A qualitative focus group study

To explore the experiences and perceptions of final-year nursing students in assessing and managing acute pesticide poisoning using a socio-environmental care approach in a primary health care simulation-based scenario.

A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using focus groups.

Twelve focus groups were held, with 114 fourth-year nursing students. The study was carried out from September to November 2021. To grant an in-depth analysis of the collected data, a thematic analysis was used.

After our data analysis, three main themes emerged: (i) experiences of an acute pesticide poisoning case in a simulation-based scenario; (ii) environmental health nursing competencies for a culturally competent practice and (iii) social factors in prevention strategies.

Using a socio-environmental care approach with a primary care simulation-based poisoning case can provide a realistic public health clinical experience for local problems and prepare the context for the development of global citizenship values, as well as offer numerous opportunities to facilitate transformative learning, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into local nursing clinical practice.

Nurse managers, policymakers and educators must collaborate together to broaden their reach in teaching the role of the environment and social determinants of health through evidence-based care models, as well as actively contributing to the achievement of the SDGs to promote "glocal" competencies among nursing professionals.