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CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND PEDAGOGY article

Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1437632
This article is part of the Research Topic Health Professions Education at a Time of Triple Planetary Crises View all 7 articles

Integrating planetary health education into tertiary curricula: a practical toolbox for implementation

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 School of Nursing and Midwifery and Health and Climate Initiative, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
  • 2 Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
  • 3 School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
  • 4 Division of Planetary Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University,, Melbourne, Australia
  • 5 Department of Infectious Diseases, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
  • 6 Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
  • 7 Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
  • 8 School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To present a series of case studies from our respective countries and disciplines on approaches to implementing the Planetary Health Education Framework in university health professional education programs, and to propose a curriculum implementation and evaluation toolbox for educators to facilitate the adoption of similar initiatives in their programs. We emphasize the importance of applying an Indigenous lens to curriculum needs assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation.Methods: Case studies from Australia and United States were collated using a six-stage design-based educational research framework (Focus, Formulation, Contextualization, Definition, Implementation, Evaluation) for teaching planetary health and methods of curriculum evaluation. These components were then mapped to derive the curriculum implementation toolbox reflecting the six-stage designbased educational research framework.The case studies demonstrated different approaches to successful integration of the Planetary Health Education Framework in medicine, nursing, public health, and allied health disciplines. This integration often involved Indigenous perspectives on environmental stewardship, holistic health, and community well-being into the curriculum. The case studies also highlighted the importance of community engagement, cultural competency, and interdisciplinary collaboration in curriculum development. Findings from case studies were used to propose a curriculum implementation toolbox to assist educators in adapting and integrating planetary health education into their own programs. Discussion: While valuable frameworks for teaching planetary health in health science programs exist, challenges remain in implementing these frameworks in real-world educational environments. The proposed curriculum implementation toolbox offers practical strategies and resources for educators to incorporate these principles into their teaching. Additionally, the case studies reported here contribute to the growing body of literature on planetary health education pertinent to addressing the triple planetary crisis.

    Keywords: Planetary health, Climate Change, environment, Education, curriculum development, implementation (Min.5-Max. 8)

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 01 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lokmic-Tomkins, Barbour, LeClair, Luebke, McGuinness, Limaye, Pillai, Flynn, Kamp, Leder and Patz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins, School of Nursing and Midwifery and Health and Climate Initiative, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.