Special Issue – “Nursing, Sustainability, and Climate Justice: Challenges for Health Care”

Call for Papers – Texto & Contexto Enfermagem

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Graduate Program in Nursing at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (PEN/UFSC)

The Texto & Contexto Enfermagem journal, a peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Graduate Program in Nursing at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (PEN/UFSC), announces this Special Issue as part of the celebrations marking its 50 years of academic excellence — five decades of contributions to knowledge production, advanced education, innovation, and leadership in nursing at national and international levels.

Throughout its history, PEN/UFSC has consolidated its position as a center of excellence, with a strong commitment to emerging global issues, health systems transformation, and the advancement of critical, innovative, and socially responsive nursing. On the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, the Program reaffirms its mission to promote strategic research agendas shaping the future of nursing and global health.

Among these agendas, the impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio-ecological transformations on human health and health care systems stand out as urgent and complex challenges. Despite their growing relevance worldwide, these topics remain underrepresented in nursing research.

In this context, the Special Issue “Nursing, Sustainability, and Climate Justice” seeks to advance scientific knowledge, strengthen empirical evidence, and foster critical analysis of nursing’s role in addressing contemporary climate and environmental crises.

 

Background and Rationale

Accelerated environmental changes have led to profound consequences for population health, including threats to food and water security, population displacement, disaster risk, and livelihoods across diverse settings. Countries in the Global South — particularly in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania — experience disproportionate impacts; however, climate-related health challenges also affect high-income countries and require coordinated, innovative, and transnational responses.

Given its extensive presence across all levels of health systems and its central role in care delivery, education, leadership, and health governance, nursing is strategically positioned to lead sustainable health practices, enhance community resilience, inform public policy, and generate high-impact interdisciplinary research.

This Special Issue reaffirms the longstanding commitment of PEN/UFSC and Texto & Contexto Enfermagem to rigorous, internationally relevant scientific publishing aligned with contemporary societal challenges and health equity.

 

Thematic Areas

The journal invites original research, reviews, and theoretical papers addressing, but not limited to, the following areas:

Theme 1 — Nursing practice and extreme climate events

  • nursing responses to floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, landslides, and disasters;
  • psychosocial care, community recovery, and resilience-building;
  • nursing roles in environmental and climate-related emergencies.

Theme 2 — Sustainability and resilience of health systems

  • decarbonization strategies and waste management in health care;
  • low-carbon and sustainable models of care;
  • health system infrastructure, logistics, governance, and climate-informed policies.

Theme 3 — Planetary health, equity, and climate justice

  • social inequalities and health vulnerabilities intensified by climate change;
  • impacts on marginalized and vulnerable populations across global contexts;
  • biodiversity loss, ecosystem services, and food and water security.

Theme 4 — Education and ecological competencies in nursing and health professions

  • integration of planetary health into curricula;
  • innovative teaching and learning approaches;
  • environmental education, social engagement, and interprofessional collaboration.

Theme 5 — Innovation and digital technologies for mitigation and adaptation

  • telehealth, artificial intelligence, remote monitoring, and digital health tools;
  • sustainable innovations in clinical practice, health management, and surveillance;
  • economic evaluation and environmental impact assessment of health interventions

Theme 6 — Interdisciplinary and intersectoral research

  • collaborations between nursing and fields such as engineering, urban planning, agriculture, ecology, architecture, economics, and social sciences;
  • public policy, governance frameworks, and global strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation.

 

Editorial Team

Special Issue Editor-in-Chief : Gisele Cristina Manfrini, PhD

Guest Associate Editors

Dr. Alexandre Barbosa de Oliveira - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brasil

Dr. Mayckel da Silva Barreto - Universidade Estadual de Maringa (UEM), Brasil

Dra. Maria Josefa Arcaya Moncada - Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Peru

Dra. Rafaella Pessoa Moreira - Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), Brasil

Click here for submission instructions.

Submission: from January 5 to March 31, 2026