Environmental sustainability in healthcare: A qualitative study of the perspectives of nursing, medical and public health students in Kazakhstan

The aim was: This study explored the perspectives of nursing, medical and public health students on environmental sustainability in healthcare. Background: The healthcare sector has increasingly recognized the importance of adopting environmental sustainability over the past few years. This growing awareness emphasizes the need to thoroughly assess the connection between health care and environmental responsibility. Design: Qualitative descriptive-exploratory design. Methods: This study explored the views on environmental sustainability in health care of 29 nursing, medical and public health students at three universities in Kazakhstan through focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was used in the data analysis. Data collection was carried out from June to August 2023. Results: Using semantic thematic analysis, 209 initial codes were extracted, and then similar codes and meanings were grouped, leading to 21 categories until the development of the five significant themes. The five main themes are 'the impact of the environment on health', 'environmental sustainability practices in healthcare care', 'the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in environmental sustainability in healthcare', 'intrinsic motivation to engage in environmental sustainability practices in healthcare' and 'challenges and barriers to practicing environmental sustainability in healthcare'. Conclusions: The study findings suggest the critical aspect of addressing environmental sustainability through interprofessional collaboration and working on intrinsic motivation among health professionals. Furthermore, our study contributes in several ways to our understanding of environmental sustainability in healthcare. Provides a basis for clinicians, educators and policy makers to consider adding sustainability to their agenda to prepare future health professionals.