Abstract
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.