Initiatives promoting planetary health education in Germany: An overview

Eva-Maria Schwienhorst-Stich; Katharina Wabnitz; Eva Geck; Sophie Gepp; Laura Jung; Anna Mumm; Jörg Schmid; Anne Simmenroth; Johanna Simon; Michael Eichinger

doi:10.3205/zma001620

Initiatives promoting planetary health education in Germany: An overview

GMS J Med Educ. 2023 May 15;40(3):Doc38. doi: 10.3205/zma001620. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Eva-Maria Schwienhorst-Stich^{1

2}, Katharina Wabnitz^{3

4}, Eva Geck⁵, Sophie Gepp^{6

7}, Laura Jung⁸, Anna Mumm⁹, Jörg Schmid¹, Anne Simmenroth¹, Johanna Simon⁵, Michael Eichinger^{10

11}

Affiliations

¹ University Hospital Würzburg, Department of General Practice, Würzburg, Germany.
² University of Würzburg, Teaching Clinic of the Faculty of Medicine & University Hospital Würzburg, Institute of Medical Teaching and Medical Education Research, Würzburg, Germany.
³ Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research, Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology (IBE), Munich, Germany.
⁴ Centre for Planetary Health Policy (CPHP), Berlin, Germany.
⁵ University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁶ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁷ German Alliance on Climate Change and Health (KLUG), Berlin, Germany.
⁸ Leipzig University Medical Center, Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Leipzig, Germany.
⁹ University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
¹⁰ Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Center for Preventive Medicine and Digital Health, Mannheim, Germany.
¹¹ University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Mainz, Germany.

Abstract
in English, German

Planetary health education focuses on the climate and ecological crises and their adverse health effects. Given the acceleration of these crises, nationwide integration of planetary health education into undergraduate and graduate education, postgraduate training and continuing education for all health professionals has repeatedly been called for. Since 2019, planetary health education has been promoted by several national initiatives in Germany that are summarized in this commentary: 1. National Working Group Planetary Health Education, 2. Manual for planetary health education, 3. Catalog of National Planetary Health Learning Objectives in the National Competency-Based Catalog of Learning Objectives for Medical Education, 4. Working Group Climate, Environment and Health Impact Assessment at the Institute for Medical and Pharmaceutical Examinations, 5. Planetary Health Report Card, and 6. PlanetMedEd study: planetary health education in medical schools in Germany. We hope these initiatives promote collaboration across institutions involved in educating and training health professionals, inter-professional cooperation as well as rapid implementation of planetary health education.

Lehre zu Planetary Health befasst sich mit den Zusammenhängen zwischen der Klima- und Umweltkrise und der menschlichen Gesundheit. Mit Fortschreiten der Krise mehren sich die Rufe nach flächendeckender Integration von Lehre zu Planetary Health in die Aus-, Weiter- und Fortbildung aller Gesundheitsberufe. Die flächendeckende Integration wird seit 2019 durch mehrere bundesweite Initiativen unterstützt, die im folgenden Kommentar exemplarisch vorgestellt werden: 1. AG Planetary Health Lehre, 2. Leitfaden für Lehrangebote zu Planetary Health,3. Themen- und Fachkatalog Planetare und Globale Gesundheit im Nationalen Kompetenzbasierten Lernzielkatalog Medizin,4. AG Klima, Umwelt und gesundheitliche Folgenabschätzung am Institut für Medizinische und Pharmazeutische Prüfungsfragen,5. Planetary Health Report Card und6. PlanetMedEd Studie: Lehre zu Planetary Health an Medizinischen Fakultäten in Deutschland.Die bundesweiten Initiativen sollen einen Beitrag zu standortübergreifender Zusammenarbeit, interprofessioneller Ausrichtung und rascher Implementierung von Lehre zu Planetary Health leisten.

Keywords: climate change; planetary health; planetary health education; sustainable healthcare; transformative education.

MeSH terms

Curriculum
Education, Medical*
Germany
Health Education
Schools, Medical

Abstract in English, German

MeSH terms

Abstract
in English, German