Nurses can play a central role in mitigating and adapting to current and future health threats from climate change. This course provides nurses with tailored information about climate change related stressors and how they impact the health of populations and communities around the world. This course will also provide actionable steps, focused primarily on adaptation, that nurses can take to address and prepare for these health impacts at the individual level, the health-system level, and the community level.

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Within this course, climate-related health impacts will be discussed utilizing the conceptual framework of planetary health. Planetary health refers to "the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends" (Lancet).

This course was co-developed by the Yale School of Nursing in collaboration with the Alliance for Nurses for Health Environments and Healthcare Without Harm.

This course can be used by health professionals to earn contact hours for continuing education.

What You Will Learn

- Increase nurses’ understanding of the links between impacts of climate change and acute and chronic threats to human health.

- Prepare nurses to respond to current and future climate-related health impacts being seen in their practice and educational settings .

- Using a personal and professional action plan framework, empower nurses to build resilience and take proactive steps against these climate impacts.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Welcome to the Course

Welcome to the Planetary Health course!

WEEK 2

Drought

In this module, we will discuss droughts: how they are related to climate change, and how they impact human health and communities.

WEEK 3

Flooding

In this module, we will discuss the impact of climate change on flooding, and the impact that flooding has on public health when it occurs.

WEEK 4

Extreme Heat

In this module, we will discuss the causes and health impacts of extreme heat events.

WEEK 5

Hurricanes

WEEK 6

Communicable and Vector-Borne Diseases

WEEK 7

Wildfire

In this module, we will discuss the impact of wildfire on individuals, communities, and health systems. We will also discuss the ways in which climate change impacts fire danger in areas prone to wildfire.

WEEK 8

Nurse Actions

WEEK 9

Final Quiz

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Course Auditing