Development and Implementation of a Climate Change and Health Curriculum Into Pediatric Residency Education

Background There is an increasing body of evidence demonstrating the impacts of climate change on health. Physicians recognize the significance but feel unprepared to address it. Despite a call to action from prominent medical organizations, climate change and health (CCH) education has remained sparse. Objective To describe the development and feasibility of a formal climate change curriculum tailored to pediatric residency programs and to assess residents' pre-intervention knowledge and self-reported comfort with this topic. Methods We created a longitudinal, single-institution CCH curriculum for pediatric and combined internal medicine-pediatrics residents. Implementation and evaluation began in May 2023 and is ongoing. Several educational strategies are utilized, and assessment tools include knowledge- and attitudes-based assessments, case-based exercises, reflective writing, grading rubrics, and patient encounter assessments. Feasibility was tracked. Results Sixty-one residents were eligible for participation at the beginning of the study. Pre-intervention knowledge-based assessments were completed by 14 of the 61 residents (23.0%), and attitude-based questions were completed by 12 residents (19.7%). Baseline knowledge assessment showed varied proficiency in CCH topics, and attitudes data showed that while most respondents felt CCH education was important (11 of 12, 91.7%), no respondents felt "very comfortable" discussing these topics with patients. In the first year of the curriculum, after residents applied knowledge in a small-group, case-based exercise, most groups were graded as "not yet competent" in all categories utilizing a rubric. Conclusions This study demonstrates that a CCH curriculum can be feasibly designed and implemented.