May 8, 2023 - Floods and severe storms are harmful to our health. Extreme weather is becoming more common with climate change, and is demanding and costly to individuals, communities and health systems. This ...
Health Professional Education Resources
Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), has developed a variety of free interdisciplinary clinical education resources which you will find listed below. They can be used to update health professional curricula to incorporate important education about climate health and sustainable practice.
We have started integrating these resources into medical schools, teaching hospitals and speciality colleges across Australia. Please contact admin@dea.org.au if you would like to get involved, or would like more information.
Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), has successfully advocated for, and assisted in, the integration of climate health risks and sustainability into medical education curricula and healthcare standards across the country, including the AMC National Framework for Prevocational Medical Training, AMC Primary Medical School Standards, the NSQHS Sustainable Healthcare Module, and the Victorian Public Hospital Enterprise Agreement.
It is imperative that the medical workforce understand, address, and can respond to the health effects of climate change, which has been declared the single biggest health threat facing humanity in the 21st century. Many Australian medical colleges have recognised they have a duty to be part of the solutions, and to prepare their members for responding to these impacts.
DEA Curriculum Mapping Resource & Slide Deck
Easy-to-use tools for medical educators to locate clinically relevant teaching points in each major body system. These resources can be used to support Domain 2 & Domain 3 of the AMC National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2) Medical Training.
Principles of Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare
Click here to download the slide deck for clinical educators to promote the principles of environmentally sustainable healthcare. These resources can be used to support Outcome Statement 1.5, Domain 2, and EPA 2 (Prescribing) of the AMC National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2) Medical Training.
GreenCollege Guidelines: Reducing the environmental impact of your medical colleges, specialty, society, council and association
Practical and affordable ideas to make eco-friendly organisational improvements.
Greening Your Health Organisation
The carbon footprint of Australia’s healthcare sector is estimated at over 7% of Australia’s total emissions. While every sector needs to play its part to limit global warming and environmental degradation, the healthcare sector has an added responsibility (and opportunity) to lead mitigation of emissions and environmental impacts.
DEA After Hours Webinars
The After Hours is a webinar series all about climate change and human health. Each month, we’ll bring you a new session that will focus on one specific aspect of the relationship between climate change and human health—and what health professionals can be doing about it.
DEA Podcasts
Hosts Dr. Karin English and Dr. Kaiya Ferguson discuss latest DEA news & topical environment and health issues
Upcoming: Grand Rounds Package
Please reach out (admin@dea.org.au) if you are interested in helping us pilot this resource.
Upcoming: Actions for Sustainability in Your Hospital Toolkit
Please reach out (admin@dea.org.au) if you are interested in helping us pilot this resource.
Specific DEA resources
National and International Medical Education Partnerships
Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
As a partner of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, please click here for links to educational content, resources, and information on a wide variety of climate and health topics for members and health professions schools/programs to enhance their development of locally tailored climate-health educational opportunities.
NSW Health Climate Risk and Net Zero
NSW Health is establishing a climate risk and net zero program, to coordinate and scale-up action across NSW Health. This website contains practical information and resources to support staff in the transition to a modern, low carbon health system.
Featured Presentations and Factsheets:
Surgeons first to sign up to new green guidelines
November 18, 2022 - The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) has become the first medical college in Australia to sign up to the newly released Green College Guidelines. The guidelines, which have been ...
Fact Sheet: Asthma and Indoor Gas Appliances
October 13, 2022 - Asthma has many triggers, and these vary from person to person: respiratory virus infection, dust mites, mould, and indoor air pollution. One exposure that is often overlooked is the nitrogen ...
Joint DEA & AMA webinar: Climate change and sustainability: leadership and action from Australian doctors
August 9, 2022 - Co-hosted by Doctors for the Environment Australia and the Australian Medical Association, this webinar once again brought together medical professionals and Australia’s medical colleges to facilitate the sharing of information, ...
Educational Resource: Mapping Climate Change and Health into the Medical Curriculum
March 30, 2022 - Co-development of a ‘Planetary Health-Organ System Map’ for Graduate Medical Education It is imperative that educating the medical workforce to understand, address and mitigate the health effects of climate change ...
DEA: All Electric Hospital Guide
March 24, 2022 - DEA’s sustainable health care Special Interest Group (SIG) have released a new guide for medical practitioners. ‘Building the next zero hospital to be net zero carbon emissions (all-electric): A six ...
Report: How Climate Change Affects Mental Health In Australia
October 11, 2021 - – Climate change is increasingly driving more severe and frequent extreme weather events such as extreme heat, bushfires, storms and floods which have serious and wide-reaching impacts on the mental health of ...
How Climate Change Affects Your Health: The Facts
August 30, 2021 - – We’re proud to launch our new briefing document: How Climate Change Affects Your Health: The Facts.
Diet and Agriculture Pamphlets
April 26, 2021 - Educational resources focussed on diet, agriculture and the environment. Thanks to several of our South Australian members for putting these resources together.
Report: Net Zero Emissions for Australia’s healthcare sector (14 Dec 2020)
December 13, 2020 - Towards net zero emissions in healthcare The changing climate is exposing our patients and communities to more frequent and intense extreme weather. Health professionals are increasingly treating climate-related illnesses, and ...
The implications for human health and wellbeing of expanding gas mining in Australia
August 22, 2019 - Onshore Oil and Gas Policy Background Paper 2019 – Summary Report Onshore Oil and Gas Policy Background Paper 2019 – Full Report
Environmental Sustainability & Healthcare: What do Health Professionals Need to Know?
July 18, 2018 - Every doctor needs to view this superb presentation by Katherine Barraclough at ANZ Association for Health Professional Educators. It details why environmental sustainability is core business for health professionals and an essential ...
Clean Air for New South Wales: 2018 Update
April 12, 2018 - Particle air pollution in New South Wales is getting worse, with the annual averages for both fine and coarse particle pollution higher in 2018 than in 2017.