25 universities inject climate change into medical curricula

Twenty-five top universities from 12 European countries – led by the University of Glasgow – have launched a network to educate and train medical students on the dangers of climate change to health. The European Network on Climate and Health Education (ENCHE) will also teach about sustainable healthcare.

It is estimated that 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the health sector.

Network universities aim to equip up to 10,000 medical students a year with the awareness and knowledge to prevent, identify, and treat diseases that are new and changing in their countries and regions. Among those most feared is malaria, as mosquitoes move north to an increasingly hotter Europe.

Collaboration of medical schools

The network, which is supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international healthcare organisations, has been founded by medical schools from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with more expected to join in the future.

The plan is to integrate teaching on climate and the effects on health into existing curricula used to educate and train doctors.

Climate change is now one of the biggest pressures on already overstretched healthcare systems. Factors such as extreme temperatures and air pollution are exacerbating infectious and chronic diseases, including vector-borne illnesses, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory illnesses, and mental health conditions.

At the same time, the health sector is contributing to the climate crisis, with approximately five percent of greenhouse gas emissions coming from healthcare.

According to the WHO data, 99% of people breathe polluted air and seven million people a year die from illnesses linked to air pollution. It estimated that heat-related deaths could triple by 2050, unless urgent action is taken.

Vulnerable people such as children, the elderly, marginalised communities, and those with pre-existing conditions are disproportionately affected by climate change, not least because the impact on infrastructure is undermining access to care.

Interconnected teaching

Existing curricula in medical schools tend to rely on the knowledge of individual faculty members and the engagement of student groups for any links between climate and health, and there are currently no formal modules to teach this interconnection.

The aim of the network is to provide this training across undergraduate medical degree programmes. This might include expanding to reach healthcare professionals and partners in other regions of the world to support climate resistance across health systems.

The network will be chaired by the University of Glasgow and will become a regional hub of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

The GCCHE will offer expertise and advice to the network, as well as promote transatlantic collaboration on climate and health education.

Dr Camille Huser, deputy head of Undergraduate Medical School Bioscience at the University of Glasgow and co-chair of ENCHE, told University World News that undergraduate education into the effects of climate change will make “a valuable contribution to our knowledge and ability to respond effectively”.

She noted: “We will be holding our first meeting between the medical schools shortly, where we will seek to find out what expertise and knowledge is already available and who is already teaching modules on this and what they are teaching.

“We need to share this information so that we can create the appropriate teaching resources. We anticipate that courses will focus on how climate change impacts on health and healthcare in terms of prevention, identification and treatment.

“This will vary depending on the geographical location of the university, because we will all have different impacts.

“The aim is to deliver better patient care and to improve global health. What we don’t want to do is overwhelm students in an already challenging medical curriculum, but to inform them on how this might impact their work as a doctor in the future.”

Elise McFarland, a fifth-year medical student at the University of Glasgow, is one of the students supporting the creation of the ENCHE.

She told University World News: “Not many people understand that health systems are contributors to the climate crisis and, in turn, that diseases are changing because of changes to climate. Increasing awareness of this and the link to healthcare is important.

“I believe this needs to be taught in a longitudinal way across the different areas that are taught in medical schools. It’s not about having one lesson on climate change but incorporating it across everything we are learning. We need to get more students and universities signed up to this.”

Attention needed here and now

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said the health impacts of climate change were “right here and right now” and not hypothetical threats for the future.

“The WHO is supporting countries to build climate-resilient and climate-friendly health systems, which includes equipping health workers with the competencies to address this major public health challenge,” he said in a University of Glasgow statement about the network’s launch last month.

“I welcome the public-private collaboration that has helped galvanise this new educational network, and I hope it will inspire action in other countries and regions around the world,” he noted.

Associate professor Cecilia Sorensen MD, director of the GCCHE, said: “Climate change will impact all of us, but not equally and not in the same way.

“Regional networks are necessary to help health professionals prevent and respond to climate and health challenges that are unique to the communities where they practise, while taking into account unique cultural and societal issues.

“The ENCHE will provide educators throughout Europe with the resources they need to enable a climate-ready health workforce.”

The network will also be supported by leading health organisations, including AstraZeneca, Bupa, GSK, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, and the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force, a public-private collaboration between global pharmaceutical and healthcare company CEOs and leaders who are committed to accelerating the decarbonisation of health systems.

The network has invited other European universities to join and to commit to educating the next generation of doctors on the interconnection between climate and health.

Medical schools initially joining the ENCHE are:

• KU Leuven, Faculty of Medicine (Belgium)

• Lancaster University, Lancaster Medical School (UK)

• Lund University, Faculty of Medicine (Sweden)

• Medical University of Warsaw (Poland)

• NOVA Medical School (Portugal)

• Trinity College Dublin, School of Medicine (Ireland)

• University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Faculty of Medicine Lyon Est (France)

• University College London Medical School (UK)

• University of Aberdeen, School of Medicine and Dentistry (UK)

• University of Augsburg (Germany)

• University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Spain)

• University of Buckingham Medical School (UK)

• University of Glasgow School of Medicine (UK)

• University of Lisbon, School of Medicine (Portugal)

• University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine (Slovenia)

• University of Lucerne, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine (Switzerland)

• University of Milan, Faculty of Medicine (Italy)

• University of Navarra, School of Medicine (Spain)

• University of Nottingham, School of Medicine (UK)

• University of Oxford, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (UK)

• University of Paris Cité, Faculty of Health (France)

• University of Pavia, Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics (Italy)

• University of Sheffield, School of Medicine and Population Health (UK)

• University of Turin, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences and MedInTO (Italy)

• University of Warwick, Medical School (UK)