Surveying planetary health curriculum: Integration in Canadian nursing education

Nursing students and faculty are meeting face to face with the realities of a changing climate, more frequent environmental disasters, new and emerging infectious diseases, and related social and human conditions. A movement to include Planetary Health concepts, skills and practices into nursing education competencies is building across Canada and globally. The Canadian Association for Schools of Nursing (CASN) Planetary Health Interest Group embarked on an exploration of the uptake of the Planetary Health Education Framework (PHEF) and related Planetary Health curriculum initiatives.

To better understand the integration of Planetary Health into nursing curricula and pedagogical practices across the country, the Planetary Health Interest Group conducted an online, descriptive survey with analysis in 2024. Survey items were developed alongside the Planetary Health Interest Group based on published literature on Planetary Health Concepts. This study surveyed English speaking institutions of higher education in Canada, with a view to a second phase at Francophone institutions to follow.

A total of 17 responses (one duplicate) were received from 16 different institutions. Responses were received from institutions in seven different Canadian provinces all offering undergraduate degrees, and over half offering graduate education in nursing. All reported their schools of nursing addressed one or more Planetary Health concepts such as "Indigenous land-informed ways of knowing" or "human health impacts of exceeding planetary boundaries." Most reported varied and instructor dependent ways of addressing concepts with a desire to better integrate and standardize concepts throughout curriculum.

Informed by these survey results the CASN Planetary Health Interest Group will set goals for integration and development of targeted resources needed to ensure that the movement of Planetary Health is implemented in nursing curricula. Extending the survey to Francophone institutions is a next step forward for the strategy. From the findings, a variety of recommendations illuminated for champions and practices to advance the Planetary Health Movement.