564 - Assessing Pediatric Residents’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Climate Change and its Impact on Health

Poster Number: 564
Publication Number: 564.116

Mark A. McShane, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Linessa Zuniga, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Shelley Kumar, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States

Background: Climate change negatively impacts human health in many ways and exacerbates health inequities. To prepare physicians for this growing public health crisis, some medical schools and residency programs are now incorporating climate change into their curricula. However, there is little data regarding the attitudes and perceptions of pediatric trainees towards climate change and even less data regarding the effectiveness of climate-related education.

Objective: This study assesses pediatric residents’ baseline knowledge and attitudes toward climate change and its impact on health and whether residents’ knowledge and attitudes are affected by a required educational session.

Design/Methods: A 90-minute, interactive, small-group format educational session on climate change was incorporated into the first-year curriculum of a pediatric residency program. Prior to the start of the required session, resident participants are asked to complete an online survey assessing their baseline knowledge, attitudes, and exposures to the health impacts of climate change. After the session, a second survey is sent to participants. Likert scale data from pre-session and post-session survey responses are analyzed and compared using Wilcoxon signed rank method.

Results: Preliminary data from the pre-session survey (n = 22) show that 91% of participants believe climate change impacts human health, yet only 41% reported an understanding of how this occurs. While only 14% received climate-related education in medical school, 91% believed that residents would benefit from such education. Using a scale where 1=Strongly Disagree and 5=Strongly Agree, the post-session respondents’ (n = 11) median understanding of climate change’s impact on health improved from 3 to 5 (p = .008; see Table 1). The session also significantly improved residents’ knowledge of how human activities contribute to climate change (p = .031), how physicians can be climate advocates (p = .018), and their perceptions that physicians should be leaders in combating climate change (p = .031). All post-session respondents (100%) reported that they felt better prepared to address the climate crisis and would recommend the session to other residents.Conclusion(s): Preliminary results show that pediatric residents believe climate change is a significant health threat, yet very few have received formal education on the topic. An interactive, climate-related educational session improves residents’ understanding of how climate change impacts health and how physicians can play a role in combating the climate crisis.
CV - Mark McShane (2022)CV - Mark McShane (2022).pdf