What do Final Year Medical Students in Germany know and think about Climate Change? – The ClimAttitude Study

Climate Change Related Depression, Anxiety and Stress Symptoms Perceived by Medical Students

“…Regarding participants’ characteristics, 58% of participants in this study were extremely or very worried about climate change, in comparison to 43% of the German general population as reported by the eighth round of the European Social Survey [ 24 ]. This confirms the hypothesis made by Bugaj et al in the ClimAttitude study [ 31 ] that medical students show high awareness of the threat that climate change poses to our planet and especially humanity. Two factors that make medical students more susceptible to worries about climate change compared to the general population may be their young age as well as their relatively high level of education, as younger generations and people with post-secondary education have been shown to be more aware and concerned about climate change [ 50 , 51 ].…”

“…Accordingly, climate change is highly likely to shape the medical profession in the future. The ClimAttitude Study [ 31 ] investigated German medical students’ attitudes towards climate change. Participants were in their final year of studies and represent a new generation of physicians.…”

“…Considering the important role the health care system plays in relation to climate change and the high levels of awareness of the consequences of climate change that medical students in their final year displayed in the ClimAttitude study [ 31 ], the present study aims to analyze data from German medical students in the clinical part of their studies. The study focuses on three goals: first, confirming medical students’ high levels of awareness of the global climate crisis and its implications.…”

South African Healthcare Professionals’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…The findings from our study of South African health professionals’ KAP regarding environmental sustainability in healthcare strongly resonate with findings from similar studies from other regions of the world [ 22 , 23 , 26 ]. More specifically, our study confirms that there is general awareness of the subject matter and some relevant terms, alongside basic recognition of the dependence of human life on environmental integrity.…”

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) recently highlighted four urgent actions for the health community: (1) the training of the health workforce to respond to climate change, (2) taking climate action in the healthcare sector, (3) enabling health professional advocacy on climate change and health, and (4) protecting the health of future generations [ 3 ]. Increasing numbers of health professionals around the world are becoming cognizant of the link between human and environmental health [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. This is evident in the following: climate change, sustainability and related issues are integrated gradually into relevant policy frameworks, guidelines, and education programs [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]; new approaches to healthcare practice are being discussed and developed within and outside of traditional clinical contexts; and increasing efforts are going into the reduction in healthcare’s environmental footprint [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”