Background

Climate change undermines health and is of fundamental relevance to medical education¹. Integrating climate change into medical education prepares doctors for clinical practice and a public health role in a climate-changing world. Yet there is insufficient guidance on curriculum design or implementation in this context.

Aim

This study aims to engage international experts in climate change and health, and medical education, to develop consensus learning objectives on climate change in medical training.

Method

This research is underpinned by the Delphi methodology². A series of learning objectives have been developed based on climate and health and pedagogical literature. Experts will be invited to iteratively review the learning objectives in a three-staged survey. New objectives can be suggested at the first stage. Several criteria will be explored, such as: relevance to medical practice, importance to sustainability, feasibility, and applicability to different climate contexts and other health disciplines. Two panels, one comprising experts in climate change and health, and the other experts in medical education, will be recruited through purposive sampling.

Results

This study is at its inception. Preliminary learning objectives have been drafted. It is anticipated that preliminary data analysis will have commenced before the conference. If this is not the case, the literature review and design of the learning objectives can be presented.

Conclusion

Climate change is serious issue threatening the systems sustaining human health. Medical education can catalyse a strong public health response to climate change. Expert-led consensus on a medical curriculum on climate change is integral.