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The public health emergency of climate change: how/are Canadian post-secondary public health sciences programs responding?

Canadian Journal of Public Health volume 111, pages 836–844 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently issued a statement that the fate of human society and human health is at serious risk of catastrophic impacts unless we take bold action to keep global warming under 1.5 °C. In 2015, the Canadian Public Health Association noted emerging efforts to embrace intersectoral approaches to global change in public health research and practice. In this study, we question the extent to which Canadian Graduate Public Health Sciences Programs have kept pace with these efforts to see climate change surface as a new frontier for training the next generation of researchers and practitioners.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews (19) were conducted with Department Heads (or equivalents) of graduate-level Public Health Sciences Programs at 15 Canadian universities concerning the place of climate change in their respective curricula. Interviews were designed to elicit participants’ institutional perspectives on the importance of climate change in the Public Health Sciences and identify perceived challenges and opportunities.

Results

Despite wide recognition among participants that climate change is a public health “crisis”, very few reported having substantive curricular engagement on the topic. Key challenges identified were lack of resources, organizational issues, and political barriers. Key opportunities to adapt curricula to address this new frontier in Public Health were faculty interest and expertise, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and pressure from the institution.

Conclusion

Our findings provide evidence for post-secondary Public Health Sciences Programs to understand the need to address their own sluggishness when what is needed are bold, even radical, shifts to existing curricula.

Résumé

Objectif

Le groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat a récemment publié une déclaration que le destin de la société humaine et de sa santé font face à de graves risques des conséquences catastrophiques, à moins que nous ne prenions des mesures audacieuses pour maintenir le réchauffement planétaire à moins de 1,5°C. En 2015, l’Association canadienne de santé publique a pris note des efforts en cours pour adopter des approches intersectorielles du changement planétaire dans la recherche et la pratique en santé publique. Dans cette étude, nous nous demandons dans quelle mesure les programmes d’études supérieures des programmes de sciences de la santé publique canadiens ont suivi le rythme de ces efforts pour faire en sorte que les changements climatiques deviennent une nouvelle frontière pour la formation de la prochaine génération de chercheurs (euses) et de praticiens (ciennes).

Méthode

Des entretiens semi-structurés (19) ont été menés avec les chefs de département (ou équivalents) des programmes d’études supérieures de sciences de la santé de 15 universités canadiennes sur la place du changement climatique dans leurs programmes respectifs. Les entretiens ont été conçus de manière à obtenir les perspectives institutionnelles des participants sur l’importance du changement climatique dans les sciences de la santé publique et à identifier ce qu’ils voient comme défis, obstacles et voies de changement.

Résultats

Bien que les participants aient largement reconnu que le changement climatique était une « crise » de santé publique, très peu de participants ont signalé un engagement substantiel avec le sujet dans leurs programmes. Les principaux problèmes identifiés étaient le manque de ressources, les problèmes d’organisation et les obstacles politiques. Les principales opportunités pour adapter les programmes d’études à cette nouvelle frontière de la santé publique sont l’intérêt et l’expertise des professeurs (es), la collaboration interdisciplinaire et les pressions exercées par l’institution.

Conclusion

Nos résultats démontrent que les programmes d’études supérieures de sciences de la santé doivent comprendre la nécessité de traiter à leur propre lenteur, alors que nous avons besoin d’un changement audacieux, même radical, vers les programmes existants.

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Notes

  1. Upon reviewing their transcript, one participant revised and asked to change their answer from a B to a C.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge and thank the participants who volunteered their time and perspectives for this study. We thank Alexa Manitfel for transcription, Paul Sylvestre for translation, and Marc Calabretta for data management. Finally, we acknowledge the financial support provided through the Canada Research Chairs Program.

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  1. Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Heather Castleden, Jia Lin & Madilyn Darrach

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  1. Heather Castleden
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  2. Jia Lin
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Correspondence to Heather Castleden.

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Castleden, H., Lin, J. & Darrach, M. The public health emergency of climate change: how/are Canadian post-secondary public health sciences programs responding?. Can J Public Health 111, 836–844 (2020). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-020-00386-3

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Keywords

  • Public health
  • Post-secondary institutions
  • Climate change
  • Curriculum
  • Qualitative inquiry

Mots-clés

  • Santé publique
  • établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire
  • changements climatiques
  • programmes d’études
  • enquêtes qualitatives