Health professionals in a changing climate: protocol for a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Public Health Policy
• Medical Education

Background:

• Climate change presents significant global health risks.
• Health professionals are crucial in mitigating climate change's health impacts.
• Their worldwide preparedness for these challenges remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map existing evidence on health professionals' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and practices concerning climate change and health.
• To identify challenges faced by health professionals in addressing climate change.
• To pinpoint knowledge gaps for future research, policy, and practice development.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review utilizing the Arksey and O'Malley framework.
• Inclusion of peer-reviewed literature from 2002 onwards, indexed in major databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase).
• Thematic analysis to categorize and evaluate study findings on health professionals' engagement with climate change and health.

Main Results:

• This study represents the first scoping review to assess health professionals' preparedness for climate change-related health impacts globally.
• It provides a worldwide overview of the current situation and highlights gaps in preparedness.
• Findings will illuminate current accomplishments and areas needing further development.

Conclusions:

• The review will identify key areas for enhancing health professionals' capacity to address climate change.
• It will inform the development of targeted educational programs and policy interventions.
• Dissemination through peer-reviewed publications and professional society meetings will promote best practices.