Planetary health education in medical curricula in the Republic of Ireland

Nordrum, Ola Løkken; Kirk, Aoife; Lee, Sadhbh A; Haley, Kathryn E.; Killilea, David; Khalid, Iffat; Pérez, Esmeralda Cecilie; Waters, Isabel; Yan, Ruth; Zulfiqar, Sana; Stanistreet, Debbi

doi:10.1080/0142159x.2022.2072279

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…However, literature have shown the omission of this topic in the medical school curricula to be due to a lack of knowledge and the lack of recognition of how the knowledge can be applied to clinical practice from the faculty personnel (Nordrum et In this study, medical schools in Northen Ireland region, namely Queen's University Belfast Medical School, was more likely to be satis ed with the adequacy of climate change related health topics covered by their medical school curricula. A 2022 study on planetary health education in ve medical schools in Ireland showed that a range of topics were taught, as per the curriculum learning objectives set by Planetary Health Report Card initiative (Nordrum et al 2022). Although, Queen's University Belfast Medical School was not included in this study but it may be extrapolated that climate change topics are better covered in Irish medical schools.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring UK medical students' views on the inclusion of healthcare and climate change within undergraduate medical education - a national survey

Oungpasuk

Jegatheeswaran

Nakhoul

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Climate change is increasingly threatening human health. This study aims to establish UK medical students’ opinions on climate change and health outcomes as well as their opinion on the respective medical school curricula inclusion of this topic. Methods An online survey consisting of multiple-choice, Likert-scale questions and free text questions was distributed nationally. Results 206 medical students responded. 173 (84%) and 188 (91.3%) were in agreement that climate change currently impacts health outcomes and it is important for healthcare professionals to be aware of this impact respectively. However, only 39 students were in agreement that they are confident discussing this topic with the patients, with only 38 students reporting environmental health teaching in their school and 15 students subjectively reporting this as adequate. Female students and students aged 40-44 were significantly more likely to agree that their medical school provides adequate education on climate change. 153 (74.3%) believe the inclusion of climate change related health topics should be mandatory during their training. Conclusions A majority of UK medical students surveyed, lack the confidence to counsel patients on climate change related health topics and perceive their respective medical school’s curricula coverage of this topic inadequate. This study demonstrates students’ demand and the gap in medical schools’ curricula on climate change related health topics across the UK. With an increasing health threat due to climate change, there is a need to update and evaluate the current medical school curricula.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring UK medical students' views on the inclusion of healthcare and climate change within undergraduate medical education - a national survey

Oungpasuk

Jegatheeswaran

Nakhoul

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Internationally, institutional efforts to integrate climate education into medical school curricula have been reported [11,12]. 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].…”

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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“…[19][20][21][22][23][24] Though they differ in magnitude and quality of teaching programs, many European medical schools have successfully implemented lecture series, seminars, or workshops on climate change. [25][26][27] In 2019, the American Medical Association (AMA) urged the inclusion of climate change in medical education, affirming its importance. 28 Though a promising step, a standardized curriculum on climate change in medical education is still pending.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Curricula in Family Medicine Residency Programs: Program Directors’ Perspectives From a CERA Survey

Müller,

Munagala,

Bouthillier

et al. 2024

Fam Med

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Background and Objectives: Climate change is a major threat to the health of people worldwide. The health care system deals with the immediate health-related effects of climate change and, at the same time, is a major emitter of greenhouse gas. This study aimed to investigate (a) the awareness and perception of climate change among family medicine residency program directors, and (b) the state of climate change education in family medicine residency programs. Methods: The Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA) conducted a cross-sectional survey of family medicine program directors in the United States in April 2023. We analyzed anonymous data using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Results: We analyzed responses from 284 family medicine residency program directors (response rate 41.1%). Of these, 56.8% indicated not having any lectures/seminars dedicated to climate change and no plans to introduce such curricula, with considerably higher rates in East South Central United States (92.8%). A majority considered principles of climate change, carbon emissions emitted by the health care system, and discussion of climate change with patients of lesser importance for residency program education. Conclusions: While climate change is an emerging topic affecting health and the provision of health care worldwide, our study suggests that many family medicine residency programs do not teach about it. Family medicine trainees may not always receive sufficient education about the risks posed to their patients by climate change, which could lead to them having limited knowledge and skills when discussing this topic with their patients in the future.

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Planetary health education in medical curricula in the Republic of Ireland

Cited by 7 publications

References 10 publications

Exploring UK medical students' views on the inclusion of healthcare and climate change within undergraduate medical education - a national survey

Exploring UK medical students' views on the inclusion of healthcare and climate change within undergraduate medical education - a national survey

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

Climate Change Curricula in Family Medicine Residency Programs: Program Directors’ Perspectives From a CERA Survey

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