Evaluating strengths and opportunities for a co-created climate change curriculum: Medical student perspectives

Abstract

IntroductionMedical trainees are front-line workers in our worsening climate and health crisis. A movement is underway to teach medical students essential climate change and health content. Few evaluations of climate and health curricula exist to support ongoing curricular development, innovation, and improvement. This study explores student perspectives on climate change and health content and delivery post-implementation of a climate change and health curriculum that was co-created by students and faculty and integrated across 16 months of pre-clinical coursework at Emory University School of Medicine.MethodsThe authors conducted focus groups with the inaugural cohort of students to receive the climate and health education content at the conclusion of their preclinical curriculum. The focus groups elicited student perspectives across four domains: (i) prior perceptions of climate change and health, (ii) current attitudes about climate change and health, (iii) reflections on the existing curriculum, and (iv) opportunities for the curriculum. In this qualitative evaluation, the authors coded focus group transcripts using an inductive content analysis approach.ResultsOut of 137 eligible students in the cohort, 13 (9.5%) participated in the focus groups. Implementation strategies that students valued included contextualization and integration of climate content within existing topics and student representation through the co-creation process. Students recommended bolstering small group sessions and case-based learning to build relevant history and physical examination skills as well as creating interprofessional and community-based opportunities.DiscussionThis evaluation offers in-depth student perspectives of our climate and health curriculum. Opportunities exist to synergize climate and health education with broader transformations in medicine toward health promotion and sustainable, climate-ready healthcare. From the input of focus groups, the authors derive a framework for strengthening and extending curricular content.

Pediatric Resident and Program Director Views on Climate Change and Health Curricula: A Multi-Institution Study

“…Given this incongruity, residents were most interested in education applicable to clinical encounters. This finding mirrors existing studies on medical student preferences for climate and health education, 18,27 and suggests residents’ readiness to embrace the role of physicians as trusted climate and health communicators often cited in the literature 28–30 …”

“…Given this incongruity, residents were most interested in education applicable to clinical encounters. This finding mirrors existing studies on medical student preferences for climate and health education, 18,27 and suggests residents' readiness to embrace the role of physicians as trusted climate and health communicators often cited in the literature. [28][29][30] Talking points on the health benefits of nature contact (i.e., the health benefits of exposure to the natural world, including parks, wilderness, and other green spaces) ranked second among resident content preferences.…”

“…14 In 2019, the American Medical Association issued a statement supporting climate change teaching in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education curricula. 15 While there have been attempts to describe and evaluate climate change curricula for medical students, [16][17][18][19]…”

“…In 2019, the American Medical Association issued a statement supporting climate change teaching in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education curricula 15 . While there have been attempts to describe and evaluate climate change curricula for medical students, 16–19 to our knowledge, no studies have evaluated the extent to which pediatric residency programs are teaching residents about climate change and health or what types of training or climate change–related activities residents want prioritized.…”

New Developments in Climate Change, Air Pollution, Pollen Allergy, and Interaction with SARS-CoV-2

“…New perspectives on synergizing the different topics of climate change and education with health effects should take into account the evolution of (bio)medical sciences and promote sustainable actions and key messages as being able to extend the Curricula of different professionals [114][115][116][117][118]. Specific training programs need to be developed.…”