Pan American climate resilient health systems

A training course for health professionals

Bibliographic Data

ID14969057
AuthorsCecilia Sorensen (0000-0002-7756-5208, Columbia University, corresponding author), Carolos Barboza (Environmental Health and Climate Change, Ministry of Public Health, Montevideo, Uruguay.), Peter Berry (University of Waterloo), Daniel Forsin Bu (0000-0003-3623-2615), Daniel Buss (Unit on Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, United States of America.), Haley Campbell (Columbia University), Kristie Hadley (Columbia University), Nicola Hamacher (0009-0002-7936-2794, Columbia University), Danielly Magalhaes (Columbia University), Gilma Mantilla (0000-0001-8938-7878, Columbia University), Anwar Mendez (Unit on Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, United States of America.), Karen Polson-Edwards (Unit on Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, United States of America.), Anna M Stewart‐Ibarra (0000-0002-3383-4672, Inter-American Institute), Anna Stewart-Ibarra (Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, Montevideo, Uruguay.), Irene Torres (0000-0002-0516-3090, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, Montevideo, Uruguay.)
Year2024
Volume48
Pages1
Publication date2024-09-07
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Panamericana de Salud Pública (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1020-4989 • E-ISSN: 1680-5348
PublisherPan American Health Organization (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.26633/rpsp.2024.83
PMID39247393
OpenAlexW4402308573
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited21

Objectives To describe the development, implementation, and results of a training course designed to equip health professionals from the Pan American Health Organization region with the knowledge and tools needed to adapt health systems to current climate realities Methods The Pan American climate resilient health systems course was a 9-week live-virtual course in March–April 2023, which was delivered through Zoom and offered in English, Spanish, and French. All lectures were delivered by local and regional climate and health experts. The curricular foundation of this initiative was the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education core competencies for health professionals. Participants completed pre- and post-course surveys Results A total of 1212 participants attended at least one of the nine sessions and 489 (from 66 countries) attended at least six sessions. Of these, 291 participants completed both the pre- and post-course surveys which were used in the analysis. Longitudinal survey results suggested an improvement in participants’ climate and health communication, an increased frequency of incorporating climate knowledge in professional practice, and improved confidence in engaging in climate initiatives. At the same time, many participants expressed a need for additional training Conclusions The results indicate that live-virtual courses have the potential to empower health professionals to contribute to climate resilience efforts by: increasing their communication skills; changing their professional practice; increasing their ability to lead climate and health activities; and preparing them to assess vulnerability and adaptation in health systems, measure and monitor environmental sustainability, and apply a health equity lens

Course (navigation · Geography · Health care · Health professionals · Medical education · Meteorology · Political science · Training (meteorology · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Engineering · Global Health Care Issues · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access