An evidence-based roadmap to integrate planetary health education into the medical curriculum

Abstract The urgency for action on climate change is regarded as the defining issue of our time. Planetary health education prepares future healthcare professionals to promote the health of the planet, including sustainable healthcare. This has potential benefits for the healthcare system, patients, community, and the environment. However, many educators are not confident in explaining and inspiring students and many deans and educational staff report challenges when integrating planetary health into education. The roadmap presented in this paper uses evidence from medical education literature to support medical schools with implementing this type of education. The roadmap can be used as a guide for educators, university leadership, and policy-makers in the design of planetary health education.

[1]  Aaron S. Bernstein,et al.  Climate Change and Medical Education: An Integrative Model , 2021, Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

[2]  Judith A. Singleton,et al.  AMEE Consensus Statement: Planetary health and education for sustainable healthcare , 2021, Medical teacher.

[3]  S. Bens,et al.  Curriculum development: enabling and limiting factors , 2020, International Journal for Academic Development.

[4]  G. Brand,et al.  “I teach it because it is the biggest threat to health”: Integrating sustainable healthcare into health professions education , 2020, Medical teacher.

[5]  M. Elf,et al.  Education for sustainable healthcare: Leadership to get from here to there , 2020, Medical teacher.

[6]  A. Teherani,et al.  Faculty development and partnership with students to integrate sustainable healthcare into health professions education , 2020, Medical teacher.

[7]  O. E. Omrani,et al.  Envisioning planetary health in every medical curriculum: An international medical student organization’s perspective , 2020, Medical teacher.

[8]  K. Knowlton,et al.  Assessment of Climate-Health Curricula at International Health Professions Schools , 2020, JAMA network open.

[9]  Eng Tek Ong,et al.  Flipped classroom as an effective approach in enhancing student learning of a pharmacy course with a historically low student pass rate. , 2019, Currents in pharmacy teaching & learning.

[10]  D. Katz,et al.  Preventive Medicine for Person, Place, and Planet: Revisiting the Concept of High-Level Wellness in the Planetary Health Paradigm , 2019, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[11]  Markus Amann,et al.  The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come , 2018, The Lancet.

[12]  R. Mahajan,et al.  Flipped Classroom: A Concept for Engaging Medical Students in Learning , 2018, Indian Pediatrics.

[13]  E. Chang,et al.  The “flipped classroom” approach: Stimulating positive learning attitudes and improving mastery of histology among medical students , 2017, Anatomical sciences education.

[14]  B. Haditsch,et al.  Physicians' responsibility for planetary health. , 2017, The Lancet. Planetary health.

[15]  E. Pharo,et al.  Wheels of change in higher education: a collaborative, multi-stakeholder project as a vehicle for sustainability education , 2017 .

[16]  A. Teherani,et al.  Identification of core objectives for teaching sustainable healthcare education , 2017, Medical education online.

[17]  Kagba Suaray,et al.  Student performance and attitudes in a collaborative and flipped linear algebra course , 2016 .

[18]  P. Warwick An integrated leadership model for leading education for sustainability in higher education and the vital role of students as change agents , 2016 .

[19]  F. Mortimer,et al.  Exploring emerging learning needs: a UK-wide consultation on environmental sustainability learning objectives for medical education , 2015, International journal of medical education.

[20]  Subhrendu K. Pattanayak,et al.  Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on planetary health , 2015, The Lancet.

[21]  T. Laveist,et al.  Integrating the 3Ds—Social Determinants, Health Disparities, and Health-Care Workforce Diversity , 2014, Public health reports (1974).

[22]  M. Maslin,et al.  Managing the health effects of climate change Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission , 2009, The Lancet.

[23]  R. Harden,et al.  AMEE Guide No. 21: Curriculum mapping: a tool for transparent and authentic teaching and learning , 2001, Medical teacher.

[24]  John K. Holmen,et al.  Student-led sustainability transformations: employing realist evaluation to open the black box of learning in a Challenge Lab curriculum , 2021, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.

[25]  J. Richardson,et al.  Sustainable healthcare education: integrating planetary health into clinical education. , 2019, The Lancet. Planetary health.

[26]  Beth A. Middleton,et al.  Multidisciplinary Approaches to Climate Change Questions , 2011 .