Nursing Research and Sponsored Programs is pleased to highlight this month’s Featured Publication, authored by Dr. Jessica LeClair, PhD, MPH, RN, with grad student Kelly Krainak and Drs. Linsey Steege and Susan Zahner!
Climate change disproportionately affects some communities, creating public health inequities. Addressing this climate injustice requires collaboration across a broad network of partners. Dr. LeClair led a study examining how public health nurses partner with grassroots community organizations to address climate injustice, working with graduate student Kelly Krainak and collaborators Dr. Steege and Dr. Zahner. Dr. LeClair conducted interviews and photovoice sessions that invited nurses and community partners to take photos representing climate injustice and to discuss their meanings. The study identified key processes supporting strong nurse–community partnerships, including building shared values and commitments beyond project goals, maintaining a consistent nurse presence, practicing reciprocity, and embracing co-leadership. Participants also described challenges to sustaining partnerships, such as geographic distance that limits in-person engagement and unequal access to resources. The article concludes with recommendations for public health nursing education and practice, and the need to address system-level barriers to partnership-based climate justice work.
LeClair, J., Krainak, K., Steege, L., & Zahner, S. (2025). “Working deeply with the community”: Nurse-community partnership processes for climate justice. Public Health Nursing, (0), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.70044
*All authors affiliated with UW-Madison School of Nursing