No abstract

There is now irrefutable evidence that climate change and increasing environmental degradation negatively affect population health. Healthcare plays an important role in addressing these emerging environmental challenges, considering its core aim is to protect and promote health. Preliminary research in Victoria, Australia, suggests that healthcare practitioners are endeavouring to factor in environmental concerns into their practice. Health promotion, an integral part of the healthcare system, is considered an area of practice that can support action on sustainability. Based on five qualitative case studies and key stakeholder interviews, this article explores key barriers and facilitators to incorporating sustainability into community-based healthcare practice. The findings demonstrate that despite multiple barriers, including funding and lack of policy direction, health promotion principles and practices can enable action on sustainability.

Climate change poses serious threats to human health and well-being. It exacerbates existing health inequities, impacts on the social determinants of health and disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. In the Australian region these include remote Aboriginal communities, Pacific Island countries and people with low incomes. Given health promotion's remit to protect and promote health, it should be well placed to respond to emerging climate-related health challenges. Yet, to date, there has been little evidence to demonstrate this. This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative study conducted in Victoria, Australia to highlight that; while there is clearly a role for health promotion in climate change mitigation and adaptation at the national and international levels, there is also a need for the engagement of health promoters at the community level. This raises several key issues for health promotion practice. To be better prepared to respond to climate change, health promotion practitioners first need to re-engage with the central tenets of the Ottawa Charter, namely the interconnectedness of humans and the natural environment and, secondly, the need to adopt ideas and frameworks from the sustainability field. The findings also open up a discussion for paradigmatic shifts in health promotion thinking and acting in the context of climate change.

(1) Background: In Australia, young people are one of the most vulnerable populations to the mental health impacts of climate change. The aim of this article was to explore mental health promotion issues related to climate change for young people in Australia. (2) Methods: An exploratory mixed-method approach, co-led by young people, was used to engage young people living in Australia aged 18–24 years in semi-structured interviews (n = 14) and an online survey (n = 46). Data were analysed thematically and with descriptive statistics. (3) Results: Findings indicated that negative impacts included worry, eco-anxiety, stress, hopelessness/powerlessness and feelings of not having a voice. Several mediating factors, in particular social media engagement, highlighted the duality of mental health impacts for young people’s mental health. Positive impacts of climate action included feeling optimistic and in control. (4) Conclusions: This exploratory study contributes to an emerging field of public health research on young people’s mental health in a climate-impacted Australia. Climate change is a significant concern for young people, and it can negatively affect their mental health. The findings can inform the design of public health interventions that raise awareness of climate change-related mental health issues among young people and promote their participation in nature-based interventions, climate action and empowering social media engagement.

Within higher education there is widespread support for developing students’ interdisciplinary skills. Despite this, evidence for, and practice of, cross-faculty interdisciplinary sustainability learning remains in its infancy. Recent articles have shown that Australia is no exception. This article provides a case study of interdisciplinary learning and teaching within a cross-faculty Education for Sustainability (EfS) undergraduate subject involving science, arts, business, and health students at an Australian university. A description of the subject and its theoretical context provides a platform for presenting the findings of a mixed method enquiry into how pedagogy supports interdisciplinary sustainability learning. The sequential explanatory research design involved a post-subject quantitative survey analysed using SPSS, augmented by qualitative student journal data (n = 67) using phenomenological analysis within NVivo. The study found that students, regardless of discipline background, valued the processes and pedagogy used to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and awareness. The experience left students feeling more skilled and confident of their ability to contribute to future interdisciplinary sustainability collaboration. This case study, replete with a subject description, theoretical context for an innovative pedagogical approach and study results, provides higher education professionals with a template for deliberative curriculum and pedagogy that promote interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and confidence that may contribute to transformative learning that supports EfS goals. The article presents a strong case for future EfS curriculum frameworks and strategic education policy to include deliberative interdisciplinary pedagogy. It also challenges higher education institutions to create flexible systems that facilitate cross-faculty interdisciplinary learning that is necessary for preparing students for the future.