Climate change and health in medical school curricula: A national survey of medical students’ experiences, attitudes and interests

Létourneau, Sasha; Roshan, Aishwarya; Kitching, G; Robson, Julia; Walker, Celia; Xu, Chenchen; Jubas-Malz, Daniel; Xie, Edward

doi:10.1016/j.joclim.2023.100226

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…For example, in a national study of Canadian medical students, 84.9% (1210/1424) of participants indicated they knew less about the health impacts of climate change than other topics in their curricula. 38 Similarly, in a US study, 75% (284/378) of dental students surveyed considered themselves “not knowledgeable at all” or “only slightly knowledgeable” about environmentally sustainable dentistry. 26 This stated lack of knowledge demonstrates the need for additional ESPP education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Pharmacy students' perceptions on environmental sustainability in pharmacy education and practice

Chen,

Forrester,

McEvoy

et al. 2023

Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Pharmacy students' perceptions on environmental sustainability in pharmacy education and practice

Chen,

Forrester,

McEvoy

et al. 2023

Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy

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“…In the 2019 survey, 80% said they required additional knowledge and information (Liao et al, 2019). Medical students in Canada (Létourneau et al, 2023) and Australian general practitioners and trainees (Purcell & McGirr, 2014) surveyed said they believed climate change would affect the health of their future patients.…”

Section: Image Credit: Climate Visualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A global study of medical students from 2,817 medical schools in 112 countries found that only 15% of medical schools had climate change and health in the curriculum (Omrani et al, 2020). A majority (85%) of Canadian medical students in a survey of all Canadian medical schools said that teaching about other health topics was more prevalent than climate and health (Létourneau et al, 2023). Yet research points to high interest in climate change and health education among several types of health professional students in several countries, such as US medical, nursing, and physician assistant students (Ryan et al, 2020), medical students in Canada (Létourneau et al, 2023) and China (Liao et al, 2019), nursing students in Finland (Tiitta et al, 2020) in the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, and Sweden (Álvarez-Nieto et al, 2022), and Turkey (Ergin et al, 2021), and Australian general practitioners trainees (Wild et al, 2023).…”

Section: Enabling Health Professional Engagement In Communication And...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Global Review of Research on Effective Advocacy and Communication Strategies at the Intersection of Climate Change and Health

Uppalapati,

Ansah,

Campbell

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Climate change's intensifying impact on human health necessitates effective advocacy and communication strategies. In this review that spans research in multiple languages published from 2000 to 2023, we summarize evidence on effective advocacy and communication strategies at the intersection of climate change and health for public audiences, health professionals, and public officials. First, we synthesize research on public audiences, including their perceptions of climate change and health, public responses to health-framed climate information, climate and health risks and solutions, information about vulnerable populations and equity considerations, climate- and health-related visual communication and imagery, and their perceptions of health professionals. Then, we provide an overview of research on health professional audiences, including their role in climate and health communication and advocacy, knowledge of the connections between climate and health, willingness to engage with the topic and in climate-relevant actions, and ways to encourage this engagement. Next, we delve into public officials’ perspectives and comprehension of the relationship between climate change and health. Lastly, we end with recommendations for a research agenda to fill the gaps illuminated in this review and foster a growing field on climate and health insight and engagement.

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“…Large surveys have evaluated climate change and planetary health educational initiatives in medical schools globally, [13] and nationally, including the United Kingdom, [14] Australia, [11] and Ireland [15]. In Canada, national surveys were used to understand medical students' experiences, attitudes, and interests in climate health education [16]. The importance of innovation in climate education in graduate medical education and post-residency fellowships has also been described [17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change, Environment, and Health: The implementation and initial evaluation of a longitudinal, integrated curricular theme and novel competency framework at Harvard Medical School

Kline,

Malits,

Baker

et al. 2024

PLOS Clim

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Climate change, air pollution, and ecological degradation impact health through numerous, complex mechanisms. To train future physicians to understand these impacts, medical schools can deliver longitudinal climate curricula in undergraduate medical education, but the field remains nascent. This report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the longitudinal, integrated Climate Change, Environment, and Health curricular theme and novel competency framework at Harvard Medical School (HMS). A group of HMS students collaborated with faculty to integrate climate content into the pre-clerkship curriculum. The team subsequently pursued institutional recognition as a formal HMS curricular theme and created a new competency framework that guided curriculum integration mapping and evaluation tool development. The competencies cover the impact of climate change, air pollution, and ecological degradation on health in the context of historical and structural inequities and explore the role of healthcare in contributing to both climate change and solutions. A retrospective, eight-item survey using a seven-point Likert scale and two open-ended questions was administered at the end of the pre-clerkship curriculum. HMS approved a required, four-year Climate Change, Environment, and Health curricular theme in January 2023. Survey data from 100/134 (74.6%) study participants showed that most students agreed (somewhat agree/agree/strongly agree) the curricular theme was valuable (76.0%) and improved their understanding of the health impacts of climate change (80.0%). Most students agreed that their abilities in the five competencies improved because of exposure to the curricular theme. Qualitative comments indicated that students found the curriculum valuable, and also provided constructive feedback. Efforts to expand the curriculum to all four years of medical school and conduct further evaluation continue. Further scholarship is needed to present different curricular approaches and competency frameworks, which can ultimately support effective training of future physicians to understand and respond to the impacts of climate change on health and health equity.

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Climate change and health in medical school curricula: A national survey of medical students’ experiences, attitudes and interests

Cited by 8 publications

References 22 publications

Pharmacy students' perceptions on environmental sustainability in pharmacy education and practice

Pharmacy students' perceptions on environmental sustainability in pharmacy education and practice

A Global Review of Research on Effective Advocacy and Communication Strategies at the Intersection of Climate Change and Health

Climate Change, Environment, and Health: The implementation and initial evaluation of a longitudinal, integrated curricular theme and novel competency framework at Harvard Medical School

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