Climate health is on the medical curriculum

Doctors for the Environment’s new planetary health map aims to equip medical students with a model linking climate and health.

A team from Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) at the University of Melbourne have developed a cutting-edge resource connecting ‘planetary health’ and healthcare sustainability for teachers to use in their medical curriculum.

The DEA’s ‘planetary health organ system map’ demonstrates the interlinkages between climate change and individual health, as well as emphasising the benefits of environmentally sustainable healthcare.

Along with the DEA’s educational resource, the team have also published an article in the Medical Journal of Australia which delves into the details of the project’s aims and methodology.

Chair of the DEA, Dr John Van Der Kallen, said the curriculum map is “an excellent resource which can be used by all educators to improve evidenced based knowledge and to give those working in health strategies to manage climate related health impacts”.