UBC EnviroMed

medical students who believe in climate action

Planetary Healthcare is Healthcare

As a team of medical students at the University of British Columbia, we believe that medicine and climate health are closely intertwined.

By studying and sharing planetary health, we hope to improve both environmental sustainability and health outcomes

We care about climate action

Check out our planetary health modules

We hope this website can act as a starting place to begin discussing the close relationship between health and climate change and the ways that healthcare professionals may be involved in both adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Most of the content on this website focuses on British Columbia and Canada. As medical students in British Columbia, we wanted to address the gaps we are experiencing, and the clinically relevant aspects of climate change and disease to this region.

We have compiled evidence-based knowledge into learning modules to document the intersection of climate change and health, answer critical questions, and explore the ways healthcare providers, can address some of our world’s most pressing issues.

Past work has included the development of the Green Book, in addition to a review of UBC Medicine’s undergraduate curriculum through the planetary health report card.

  • Module 1: Population Health

    There is substantial research that emphasizes that the burden of climate change will be disproportionately felt by low-income and marginalized populations. [1,2] Much of the…

  • Module 2: Health Threats

    The changing climate in British Columbia stands to impact patient health through an increase in zoonotic diseases, air pollution, and an increase in extreme weather…

  • Module 3: Impacts on Health

    Chapters 1. Cardiovascular Disease 2. Mental Health 1: Cardiovascular Disease To contextualize the unequivocal connection between cardiovascular disease and climate change, it is helpful to…

  • Module 4: Sustainable Healthcare

    Since the healthcare system tends to fixate on curing people and fixing problems that have already been created, it is often difficult to examine the…

  • Module 5: Connecting with Nature

    What are the benefits of connecting to nature? Is this supported by scientific evidence? What are strategies to communicate this knowledge? This learning module will…

  • Module 6: Plastic pollution

    Each year, it is estimated that we produce 430 million tonnes of plastic [13]. By the year 2040, this figure is expected to double [14].…

OUR GOALS

ADVOCACY

To advance climate advocacy through education and community engagement

EDUCATION

To empower learners to integrate evolving evidence on sustainability, climate change and health into their practice and education

COLLABORATION

To facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, and engage both learners and experts with planetary health