Course overview
The World Health Organization acknowledges that climate change contributes to the increasing frequency and scale of heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes that cause humanitarian emergencies. In this course you will gain understanding of the planetary health crisis of climate change, its direct effects on health, and its indirect effects through biodiversity loss and pollution. You will learn how adverse health outcomes from climate change can be managed and mitigated. This course will also highlight how climate change contributes to health inequities, and how different populations are more susceptible to the effects of climate change. This course will prepare you, as a future leader in public health, to be part of the solution in climate change action to drive improved health outcomes.
- Introduction to climate change and health
- Climate change health impacts
- Health mitigation and adaptation strategies
Course learning outcomes
- Describe how climate change affects human health at individual and population levels
- Explore climate change impact pathways and mechanisms for vector/food/water-borne diseases, chronic diseases, and work-related injuries and illnesses
- Recognise interactions between climate change, loss of biodiversity, air pollution and population health
- Apply understandings to develop health mitigation and adaptation strategies related to climate change from a planetary health perspective
- Understand how to build community resilience against climate change by working effectively with vulnerable groups