Educational Innovations for Sustainability and Climate Resilience in Healthcare

Climate change, pollution and ecosystem disruption have profound implications for human health, impacting disease patterns, patient vulnerability, healthcare resource distribution, and facility operations. Despite growing recognition of these implications, current health professions education often lacks comprehensive integration of planetary health awareness and sustainability principles. To effectively manage the emerging challenges, healthcare professionals must be specifically educated to recognize, understand, and respond to climate and other global crisis related health risks. Although some advances have been made towards embedding planetary health and sustainability education into healthcare training programs, systematic integration remains limited and there’s a growing need for comprehensive curricula and innovative pedagogical approaches.This Research Topic aims to investigate innovative educational approaches and strategies for embedding planetary health literacy and sustainability in health professions education. It seeks to address how best to develop and implement curricula that prepare healthcare providers to respond effectively and sustainably to health impacts, and evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions designed to enhance global crisis resilience in healthcare professionals. This collection builds on the previous Research Topic “Health Professions Education at a Time of Triple Planetary Crises“, with the ultimate goal of promoting comprehensive education on planetary health and sustainability within healthcare training and professional development, ensuring that healthcare professionals are well-equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to mitigate and adapt to the challenges resulting from climate change, pollution and ecosystem disruption.To gather insights into educational approaches addressing planetary health and sustainability within health professions education, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Development and evaluation of innovative educational resources and curricula targeting impacts of global environmental crises on health and resilience.• Implementation and assessment of novel and transformative pedagogical methods, including experiential learning, interprofessional education, technology-enhanced approaches, and arts-based education to increase planetary health literacy and agency among healthcare trainees.• Case studies illustrating successful incorporation of sustainability principles into health professions education and professional practice.• Strategies for integrating planetary health education into existing healthcare training pathways, including undergraduate courses, postgraduate specializations, and continuing professional development.• International and comparative perspectives on curricular innovations and best practices for sustainability education in healthcare contexts.• The role and effectiveness of healthcare professionals as change agents in reducing operational and clinical practice impacts and in promoting sustainable practices within healthcare institutions and communities.• Student agency and co-creation in planetary health curriculum development (e.g. the Planetary Health Report Card).All article types are welcome for consideration as part of this Research Topic. Contributions are encouraged from the Global South, where climate-health impacts are most acute, and where gender and educational inequities often intersect to amplify vulnerabilities. Topic editors: Thanya Pathirana, Sally Fowler Davis, James Irlam Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77394/educational-innovations-for-sustainability-and-climate-resilience-in-healthcare