Research Shows Gap in Existing Climate-Change Curricula
On Earth Day, we celebrate and honour the achievements of the environmental movement while raising awareness of the need to continue protecting Earth’s natural resources for future generations.
This year’s Earth Day theme is Invest in Our Planet, where everyone is accounted for, and everyone accountable. This theme is focused on engaging more than one billion people, governments, and institutions like healthcare centres and universities to recognize collective responsibility and help accelerate the transition to an equitable, prosperous green economy for all. The goal is to reframe the conversation, accelerate action, and bring everyone together to understand that this is within our reach if we work together.
Dr. Candace Nayman was passionate about climate change and environmental health, especially in relation to her chosen discipline of Pediatrics.
In early 2022, she completed a cross-sectional research study surveying Canadian Pediatric resident trainees about their perceptions and views about climate change, its health effects, and exposure to climate education in residency with Drs. Ania Van Meer and Anna Gunz as her supervisors.
Van Meer, Assistant Professor for the Department of Pediatrics, added that Nayman also surveyed all Canadian Pediatric Program Directors regarding resident preparedness to address climate-related health concerns.
“Of 117 resident respondents, 98.4% believe climate change is occurring, and 89.5% believe future generations are at significant risk. While most trainees acknowledged a responsibility to address health effects with patients, 90.8% reported inadequate training. Of 15 Program Director respondents, none felt residents are prepared to address climate-related health upon graduating,” she said.
Overall, Nayman’s study demonstrated a gap in existing climate-change curricula. She had proposed the development of training infrastructure for developing climate-related competencies and was active in advocating for increased climate awareness within medicine before she passed away last July.
In the spirit of Earth Day, we are proud to continue Nayman’s work by sharing her findings with our community and hope that it inspires the changes she envisioned.
For more resources on Earth Day, click here.
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