Why use indicators to measure and monitor the inclusion of climate change and environmental sustainability in health professions’ education?

Abstract

Currently, health professionals are inadequately prepared to meet the challenges that climate change and environmental degradation pose to health systems. Health professions' education (HPE) has an ethical responsibility to address this and must include the health effects of climate change and environmental sustainability across all curricula. As there is a narrow, closing window in which to take action to avoid the worst health outcomes from climate change, urgent, systematic, system-level change is required by the education sector. Measuring, monitoring, and reporting activity using indicators have been demonstrated to support change by providing a focus for action. A review of the literature on the use of indicators in medical education for climate change and health, however, yielded no publications. The framework of targets and indicators developed for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and the UNESCO initiative of the Education for Sustainable Development provide a guide for the development of indicators for HPE. Engaging stakeholders and achieving consensus on an approach to indicator development is essential and, where they exist, accreditation standards may have a supporting role. Creating capacity for environmentally sustainable health care at scale and pace should be our collective goal as health professions' educators.

AMEE Consensus Statement: Planetary health and education for sustainable healthcare

“…Few targets and indicators for the inclusion of education for sustainable healthcare exist (Madden et al 2020). Three SDGs include a target and a linked indicator relevant to education for sustainability (Box 1).…”

Climate Change and Mental Health Curricula: Addressing Barriers to Teaching

“…Climate health education case vignettes have been used in medical student objective structured clinical exercises [ 41 ]. Even though health professions educators use indicators to measure the quality of education at all levels (course, program, learners, faculty, institution, country), few indicators are currently established for climate health education [ 38 , 42 ]. According to The Lancet Countdown, the indicator “Inclusion of health and climate change within medical and public health curricula” should be reported on an annual basis [ 43 ].…”

Education for sustainable healthcare: Leadership to get from here to there

“…For example, Kotter's (2007) eight-stage process can offer a helpful framework to better ensure that evidence-based systems change can be adapted to ESH initiatives, noting the value of each of the following stages: establish a sense of urgency, form a powerful guiding coalition, create a vision, communicate the vision, empower others to act on the vision, plan for and create short term wins, consolidate improvements and produce more change, institutionalize new approaches. These change processes can then be formally measured through identified ESH outcome indicators such as those outlined by Madden et al (2020) and analyzed at both the health education microsystem level (e.g. the classroom and clinic), and at the institutional macro system level (including policies, strategies and processes).…”