Climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and other environmental changes are creating new disease patterns, threats to mental health, malnutrition, and safety risks. These unprecedented challenges impact communities across the world – especially lower-income settings. Health professionals need new approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and advocacy to respond. We have curated resources to support health professionals in taking action for human and planetary health — in the clinic and beyond.
Medicine for a Changing Planet is a collection of clinical case studies supporting health professionals in providing effective care for patients on a changing planet. This project, a collaboration between the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health and the University of Washington, helps health professionals recognize and treat a variety of health challenges impacted by environmental stressors – spanning infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, malnutrition, heat stress, physical trauma, mental health concerns, and more.
A growing array of courses at Stanford offer medical students opportunities to learn about climate change and its impacts on health. Explore a list of curated courses below. Filter courses by selecting “planetary health” from the course type menu.
The Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) has developed an expert-reviewed repository of learning objectives, slides, and cases for climate change and health curricula. This is a global health professional-led initiative which CIGH has supported. It aims to provide free, publicly accessible, evidence-based resources focused on pre-clinical health curricula and climate-mediated clinical syndromes.
Dr. Erny is an adjunct clinical professor of medicine helping lead Stanford’s efforts to adapt medical education and delivery to the realities of climate change. She discussed with us how to prepare the doctors of today and tomorrow to meet the shifting health needs wrought by climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation.
The spring 2023 issue of Stanford Medicine magazine explores how the environment and health interact — and ways to counter negative impacts. It features research and initiatives by many Stanford Global Health Faculty.
This video spotlight features Stanford Medicine’s Ashley Jowell, a recently graduated Stanford medical student, and Praveen Kalra, a Stanford anesthesiologist, discussing how they are addressing environmental issues that affect the future of medical education and patient care.
This story features Jonathan Lu, a medical student and leader, in efforts to make healthcare more sustainable and more responsive to patients impacted by climate change. In 2020, he co-founded the student-driven advocacy group Stanford Climate and Health.
Commentary: Advocating for Climate Change in Medical Education
This commentary in The Lancet Planetary Health was written by Stanford medical students and faculty and outlines a longitudinal approach to climate and equity education throughout medical training. Learn more.
Physician’s Guide to Climate Change, Health and Equity
The Physician’s Guide to Climate Change, Health and Equity from the Center for Climate Change and Health aims to strengthen and inform physician’s voices as trusted health professionals on climate change, health and equity. Learn more.
Stanford Climate and Health
A group of Stanford faculty and students committed to addressing both climate change’s impact on health and the health care system’s impact on climate change. This group aims to make Stanford the world leader in achieving decarbonization and resilience in health care. View the website.
Planetary Health Report Card
This report card was developed by Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, a medical student driven initiative designed to inspire medical schools to introduce climate change and planetary health into their curricula, expand research efforts, engage with communities most affected by climate change and environmental injustice, and support students who are passionate about organizing around planetary health. View the report card.
Medical Society Consortium for Climate and Health
The Medical Society Consortium for Climate and Health, led by Stanford’s Dr. Lisa Patel and advised by Stanford’s Dr. Barbara Erny, brings together associations representing more than 700,000 clinical practitioners to act on climate change and its health threats.Visit the website.
Climate Health Now
Climate Health Now is an advocacy organization composed of doctors, nurses, health professionals, and health students in California taking on the climate crisis in order to protect patients and the environment. Visit the website.
Physicians for Social Responsibility
SF Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility works to protect human life from the gravest threats to health and survival. They promote public policies that protect human health from the threats of nuclear war and other weapons of mass destruction, global environmental degradation, climate change, the epidemic of gun violence, and other social injustices in society today. Visit the website.
Clinicians for Planetary Health
The Clinicians for Planetary Health initiative is a global effort of the Planetary Health Alliance to galvanize health professionals, patients, and communities around planetary health through lifestyle modifications and activism. Learn more.
KEY PUBLICATIONS
A Call for Clinicians to Act on Planetary Health | The Lancet, Aug. 2019
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change | The Lancet, October 2021
Climate Change and Global Health: A Call to More Research and Action | Allergy, February 2022 | Stanford authors
Adressing Climate Change and Its Effects on Human Health: A Call to Action for Medical Schools | Academic Medicine, March 2021
Climate Change: A Health Emergency | New England Journal of Medicine, January 2019
Health Risks Due to Climate Change: Inequity in Causes and Consequences | Health Affairs, October, 2020
ONLINE RESOURCES
Journal of Climate Change and Health
Lancet Planetary Health
Nature Sustainability
Project Drawndown: Health and Education Report
World Health Organization’s Climate Change Page
OTHER MEDICAL EDUCATION RESOURCES
Diploma in Climate Medicine (University of Colorado)
Climate Crisis and Clinical Medicine Virtual Elective for Medical Students (Emory University)
BOOKS
Global Climate Change and Human Health: From Science to Practice, 2nd Edition | Jay Lemery (Editor), Kim Knowlton (Editor), Cecilia Sorensen (Editor)
Climate Change and Global Health, 2nd Edition | Colin D. Butler
Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health | Jay Lemery, Paul Auerbach
Are we missing anything? Let us know by emailing globalhealth@stanford.edu.