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POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Planetary Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1373530
This article is part of the Research Topic The Relationship Between Health and Environment Under the Lens of Climate Change: Insights for Policy Makers View all 8 articles

Paper 2: Building competency to deal with Environmental Health challenges for Environmental Health Practices

Provisionally accepted
Giovanni S. Leonardi Giovanni S. Leonardi 1,2*Ariana Zeka Ariana Zeka 1,3*Matthew Ashworth Matthew Ashworth 4Catherine Bouland Catherine Bouland 5Helen Crabbe Helen Crabbe 1Raquel Duarte-Davidson Raquel Duarte-Davidson 1Ruth A. Etzel Ruth A. Etzel 6*Nia Giuashvili Nia Giuashvili 7*Ozden Gokdemir Ozden Gokdemir 8Wojciech Hanke Wojciech Hanke 9Paul Jagals Paul Jagals 10,11Ejaz Khan Ejaz Khan 12Sylvia Medina Sylvia Medina 13Piedad Martin Olmedo Piedad Martin Olmedo 14*Samantha Pegoraro Samantha Pegoraro 15Joseph Pett Joseph Pett 1Peter Van Der Hazel Peter Van Der Hazel 16*Ekaterine Ruadze Ekaterine Ruadze 7Sohel Saikat Sohel Saikat 17Maria G. Santamaria Maria G. Santamaria 18*Jan Semenza Jan Semenza 19Cecilia Sorensen Cecilia Sorensen 20Sotiris Vardoulakis Sotiris Vardoulakis 21Fuyuen Yip Fuyuen Yip 22Paolo Lauriola Paolo Lauriola 23
  • 1 UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, United Kingdom
  • 2 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, London, United Kingdom
  • 3 University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 4 Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
  • 5 École de Santé Publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
  • 6 Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States
  • 7 NCDC-PH Georgia, tblisi, Georgia
  • 8 İzmir University of Economics, İzmir, İzmir, Türkiye
  • 9 University of Łódź, Łódź, Łódź, Poland
  • 10 WHO Collaborating Centre for Children’s Health and Environment, Brisbane, Australia
  • 11 University of Qeesland, Bridbane, Australia
  • 12 Health Services Academy, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 13 Santè Publique France, Paris, France
  • 14 Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain
  • 15 WHO Dpt Public Health Environment, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 16 International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety - INCHES, Ellecom, Netherlands
  • 17 WHO Health Systems Resilience, Integrated Health Services Department, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 18 Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Foggia, Foggia, Apulia, Italy
  • 19 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Västerbotten, Sweden
  • 20 Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University Columbia University, New York, United States
  • 21 Health Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, Camberra, Australia
  • 22 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, United States
  • 23 Rete Medici Sentinella per l'Ambiente (RIMSA), International Society Doctors for the Environment (ISDE, Arezzo, Italy

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

    The global landscape of professional training in environmental health, encompassing ecological public health or environmental public health, lacks consistent global implementation for training programs for public health practitioners, clinical professionals, and individuals across various disciplines, as well as standardized curricula for undergraduates. This training gap is related to the overall lack of capacity in addressing the population impacts of the triple challenge of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change, impeding the worldwide transition to and development of ecological sustainability. This paper asserts that existing approaches demonstrate tangible solutions to implementation challenges, within the necessarily tight timescale. Spreading of best practice appears feasible even without substantial additional resources, through the reorientation of current practices via comprehensive multi-disciplinary training programs. By adopting international best practices of training in environmental health, the focus in training and education can shift from future decision-makers to enhancing the competencies of current professionals and their institutions

    Keywords: Giovanni Leonardi, UKHSA, UK, and LSHTM, UK Paolo Lauriola, International Society Doctors for the Environment (ISDE), Rete Italiana Medici Sentinella per l'Ambiente (RIMSA), Italy for specific audiences

    Received: 19 Jan 2024; Accepted: 11 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Leonardi, Zeka, Ashworth, Bouland, Crabbe, Duarte-Davidson, Etzel, Giuashvili, Gokdemir, Hanke, Jagals, Khan, Medina, Martin Olmedo, Pegoraro, Pett, Van Der Hazel, Ruadze, Saikat, Santamaria, Semenza, Sorensen, Vardoulakis, Yip and Lauriola. 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:
    Giovanni S. Leonardi, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, United Kingdom
    Ariana Zeka, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, United Kingdom
    Ruth A. Etzel, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, District of Columbia, United States
    Nia Giuashvili, NCDC-PH Georgia, tblisi, Georgia
    Piedad Martin Olmedo, Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, 18011, Spain
    Peter Van Der Hazel, International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety - INCHES, Ellecom, Netherlands
    Maria G. Santamaria, Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Foggia, Foggia, 71121, Apulia, Italy

    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.