A cross-sectional study on the knowledge of and interest in Planetary Health in health-related study programmes in Germany

Abstract

Planetary Health connects human health with the natural and anthropogenic systems on which it depends. Planetary Health education has been growing in a wide range of health-related disciplines, yet not been widely implemented in health-related university curricula. This cross-sectional study focused on students' knowledge of and interest in Planetary Health education in order to assess the relevance of Planetary Health and Planetary Health topics for university students and their fields of study. We surveyed 1,303 students enrolled in health-related programmes in Bavaria, Germany. Data was collected on students' previous knowledge of and interest in Planetary Health, as well as the relevance of different Planetary Health topics and students' willingness to select a Planetary Health elective within their study programmes. Descriptive statistics were calculated. The majority of participants (73.8%) had not yet heard of Planetary Health but were interested in learning more about this field (90.7%). Most participants considered Planetary Health as relevant to their field (81.6%) and would likely choose a Planetary Health elective (81.9%). Participants were most interested in topics about general associations between climate and health as well as its connections with mental health and (micro) plastics. There is an urgent need and high student interest to implement a Planetary Health module in health-related study programmes in order to move this topic more into focus for the next generation of students.

University Students as Change Agents for Health and Sustainability: A Pilot Study on the Effects of a Teaching Kitchen-Based Planetary Health Diet Curriculum

“…The significant increase in confidence in explaining the PHD can be explained by the fact that a large portion of the students, when asked during the course, reported never having heard of the PHD before the course. This observation from our course is supported by findings of Klünder et al [ 51 ], who found that 74% of students enrolled in health-related programs in Bavaria, Germany, had not even heard of planetary health in general. On the same note, the literature shows that the food-based dietary guidelines of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) are only known by 14% of adults, with an even lower awareness level among younger respondents [ 52 ], thus explaining our result.…”

Health-Promoting and Sustainable Behavior in University Students in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…These findings support the results of other studies that investigated knowledge of planetary health/environment and health-related topics. For example, Klünder et al (2022) assessed previous knowledge of planetary health among university students [ 23 ]. They found that participants studying medicine, epidemiology, or public health had more knowledge of planetary health than students from other health-related fields of study, such as pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and dentistry.…”

“…They found that participants studying medicine, epidemiology, or public health had more knowledge of planetary health than students from other health-related fields of study, such as pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and dentistry. However, that study mainly focused on students from health-related study areas [ 23 ]. Another study showed that the assessment and prioritization of sustainable development goals differed according to the field of study.…”

National Planetary Health learning objectives for Germany: A steppingstone for medical education to promote transformative change

“…To strengthen the role of physicians as change agents in healthcare institutions and other sectors of society, PHE moreover stimulates the development of leadership attributes, confidence and systems thinking skills (8)(9)(10). While the urgency to integrate PHE into medical curricula has been frequently expressed (10)(11)(12), best-practice examples of mainstreaming PHE in medical curricula remain scarce both in Germany and internationally (13)(14)(15)(16)). To date, PHE in medical schools is mostly limited to student-driven extra-curricular lecture series and elective courses (17), with a majority of courses only available in English and targeting healthcare professionals from the global north (18).…”