In the face of the climate crisis, medical schools across Europe have decided to make Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria a bigger part of their curriculum.
Future doctors will also have more training on how to recognise and treat heatstroke, and be expected to take the climate impact of treatments such as inhalers for asthma into account, medical school leaders said, announcing the formation of the European Network on Climate & Health Education (Enche).
Led by the University of Glasgow, 25 medical schools from countries including the UK, Belgium and France will integrate lessons on climate into their education of more than 10,000 students.
Glasgow University’s Dr Camille Huser,co-chair of the network, said: “The doctors of the future will see a different array of presentations and diseases that they are not seeing now. They need to be aware of that so they can recognise them.”
This year was Europe’s hottest summer on record and changes in climate are increasing pressures on health services.
Insects that spread diseases, such as mosquitoes, are expanding their range and being found in new areas, aided by changes in temperature and rainfall patterns. Chronic diseases such as cancer, heart and lung conditions, diabetes and mental illness can all be affected by factors such as extreme weather or air pollution.
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The role of the climate in teaching at medical schools varies considerably, Huser said, and often consists of just a single module or lecture. The network envisages it being “infused” throughout teaching in future.
“Climate change … doesn’t necessarily create a whole new range of diseases that we haven’t seen before but it exacerbates the ones that do exist,” Huser said.
“Diabetes, for example, is not something that people link to climate change at all, but the symptoms and complications become more frequent and worse for people who live in a world where the climate has changed.”
Antimicrobial resistance, in which pathogens evolve so existing drugs no longer treat them effectively, is also being exacerbated by climate breakdown and Huser said this should be reflected in teaching.
Students will also be taught to advocate for things such as active travel – walking or cycling rather than driving – and “green prescribing”, where patients are encouraged to take up activities such as community gardening and tree planting. Both offer health benefits to individuals, as well as being positive for the environment.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
