6.8 Implications for practice

The Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE), composed of 320 members from health professional schools and programs worldwide, has developed core climate and health competencies for health professionals (Sorensen et al., 2023). Health professionals are advised to acquire new knowledge and skills to address the challenges posed by climate change. These include a deeper understanding of the health impacts of climate change, effective communication and collaboration with stakeholders on climate and health issues, active engagement in policy dialogues and development, and adaptation of clinical and public health practices to changing climate conditions (Sorensen et al., 2023).

The WHO recommends 17 training modules for professionals, including those in the health sector, focused on climate change and health (WHO, 2015a):

1. Introduction to weather and climate
2. Weather, climate variability and climate change
3. Population health and climate change
4. Policies and practices of mitigation and adaptation
5. Assessment and prediction of the health impacts of climate change
6. Thermal extremes
7. Extreme weather
8. Vector-borne diseases and climate change
9. Water- and food-borne diseases
10. Food security and malnutrition
11. Air quality
12. Assessing health vulnerability
13. Adaptation
14. Mitigation and co-benefits
15. Climate change at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
16. Disaster risk management
17. Communicating climate change and health

These core concepts can be further developed to meet the specific needs of health specialists, such as those working in child health (WHO, 2023b).

The WHO has recently the Communicating on climate change and health: Toolkit for health professionals, aiming to empower them in this area (WHO, 2024). Alongside relevant knowledge about climate change and health, health professionals are advised to:

• keep messages simple and repeat them often
• focus on human health
• pay attention to the local context
• avoid using jargon
• empower people to make informed decisions about their health
• highlight the health benefits of climate action
• use storytelling to connect with people
• refrain from using polarising language
• discuss climate change during extreme weather events
• avoid engaging in debates about the science.

These guidelines can help health professionals to effectively communicate climate change-related health risks and encourage positive actions in their communities.