Development and evaluation of educational activities for medical students and pediatricians about climate and health
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22079895 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicholas Newman (0000-0003-1963-4006, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center), Nicholas C Newman (Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine), Jacqueline M Knapke (0000-0001-5585-5629, University of Cincinnati Medical Center), Shiu‐Lin Tsai (0000-0003-1351-2542, Columbia University Irving Medical Center), Shiu-lin Tsai (Department of Pediatrics in Emergency Medicine, Columbia University at Irving Medicine Center), Reid Hartmann (0000-0002-2164-1873, University of Cincinnati Medical Center) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Pages | 1802368-1802368 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-14 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1802368 |
| PMID | 42058089 |
| OpenAlex | W7154421447 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
Introduction: The medical profession is starting to incorporate climate change and health into the education for physicians. Increased awareness of the health impacts of a warming planet has made this an important topic to teach pediatricians and medical students; however, most have no previous background in environmental health. Curriculum design: We developed didactic lectures on climate change and health customized for medical students and pediatricians that included clinical vignettes on climate-related health topics. Topics included the health effects of flooding, heat, poor air quality, and changes in insect vector distribution. Lectures were presented to 1st year medical students during a class regarding social influences on health and to pediatricians at a national meeting. An anonymous, post-presentation questionnaire was administered online, accessible to attendees through a QR code displayed at the end of the lecture. It assessed knowledge and perspectives regarding climate change and health, and the attendees' rating of the effectiveness of the presentation. Results: < 0.01). For assessing perspectives regarding climate change, we used the previously validated Global Warming's Six Americas audience segmentation (Six Americas Super Short Survey). 93.6% of medical students and 92.3% of physicians were either "Alarmed" or "Concerned" about climate change. Both students and pediatricians reported satisfaction with the session overall, 8.9/10 and 8.2/10, respectively. Discussion: Both medical students and pediatricians reported high levels of concern about climate change. Knowledge regarding climate change and health was lower overall for pediatricians compared with medical students. To address knowledge gaps, future climate change and health education should be tailored to the learning needs and styles of practicing pediatricians
Child health · Climate change · Health care · Health education · Medical school · MEDLINE · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science
Empowering medical students in the climate crisis
Pediatric Resident and Program Director Views on Climate Change and Health Curricula
‘Climate change mitigation is a hot topic, but not when it comes to hospitals’
Thematic analysis of qualitative data
Global Warming’s “Six Americas Short Survey”
| Highly cited | No |
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