Self-Paced Courses

Across the globe, clinicians and healthcare providers are increasingly confronting the health consequences of climate change in everyday practice. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation are already driving heat-related illness, worsening chronic disease, disrupting care delivery, and exacerbating health inequities. In this context, clinicians must be prepared not only to identify, prevent, and manage climate-related health risks, but also to contribute to efforts that reduce the health sector’s own environmental footprint.

Preparation for climate-informed care requires both a clinically competent workforce and educators who are equipped to translate emerging evidence into training and practice. Climate and Health Medicine: A Clinical Training Program for Healthcare Educators is a comprehensive 16-session program designed to support clinical faculty and practicing clinicians, including those without formal teaching roles, in developing the knowledge, skills, and practical tools needed to integrate climate-responsive principles into medical education and day-to-day clinical care.

The course begins with foundational knowledge of climate science and health impacts, progresses through healthcare system adaptation and mitigation strategies, explores pharmacological considerations, and then features specialty-specific sessions to aid participants in translating knowledge to action. 

Course Objectives

• Build Climate Health Literacy: Develop comprehensive understanding of how climate change affects human health through direct and indirect pathways, and the disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations
• Equip faculty with strategies for advocacy to influence governance toward avoiding the health impacts of climate change through mitigation (halting climate change)
• Integrate Climate Considerations into Clinical Practice: Acquire skills to incorporate climate risk assessment, climate-sensitive disease recognition, and climate-informed treatment decisions into routine patient care
• Strengthen Healthcare System Resilience: Learn strategies for healthcare facility adaptation, emergency preparedness, and maintaining continuity of care during climate-related disruptions
• Advance Sustainable Healthcare Practices: Implement evidence-based approaches to reduce healthcare's environmental footprint while improving patient care and promoting health equity

How to Enroll:

1. Go to https://glasgowonline.gla.ac.uk/ and create an account, making sure to use the name you will want on the certificate.
2. Once you have an account, go to the Climate and Health Medicine course here: https://glasgowonline.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=460 and get started.
3. You can complete the course in multiple sittings, and there is no time limit for completion.
4. Once you have completed all the requirements, you will be able to download your own certificate.

Original course webpage accessible here.

Climate change is a health issue that affects morbidity, mortality, and society’s abilities to deliver healthcare and support healthy living.  The effects of climate change are already harming human health around the world, and impacts will only intensify in the coming years. Heat waves and rainstorms are becoming more deadly, disease outbreaks last longer and are seen in new regions, wildfire smoke from tinder-dry forests reduces air quality, and food and water security are threatened by extreme weather. Moreover, climate change exacerbates the global epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), with disrupted services following extreme weather events and declining food security leading to poor nutrition and associated health risks. Shifting to sustainable practices, such as plant-based diets and alternative transportation, can offer significant co-benefits to both health and the environment.

There is an imperative for quick action on many fronts: to recognize and respond to climate-health threats; prevent climate change at its source by reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions; support “greener” systems throughout the economy, including healthcare; understand the health co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation; and communicate effectively about these issues to safeguard human health. 

To meet these challenges, current and future nursing professionals globally must understand the dynamics governing the interactions of climate and health, the level of scientific understanding of those interactions, and potential adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building solutions, while carrying a respect for the processes and issues not yet fully understood.  Furthermore, the nursing profession needs to be able to apply these principles to individual and population level health needs to devise individual and locally meaningful public health solutions. Education is key in the effort to increase knowledge and skills among nursing professionals, clinicians, public health practitioners, emergency responders, educators, healthcare leaders, and policy makers in order to build capacity and so they may continue to serve as trusted voices within their professions and institutions.

The Course’s key goals are to:

• Increase nursing professionals’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and communication skills related to the climate crisis to: 1) improve patient care and public health practice and 2) serve as trusted messengers within their institutions, communities, and fields of practice.
• Equip interested nursing professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to disseminate education so that health effects of climate change and emergency preparedness can be incorporated more easily into pre- and post-licensure nursing education across the globe. 
• Build and strengthen an agile and informed nursing community around climate and health education, advocacy, and policy for health professionals with strong mentorship and expert support. 

How To Enroll:

World Continuing Education Alliance (CE credit available for select countries):

1. Register online through https://wcea.education/register/ 
2. Search for the flag of your country and select the organization you are a member of. If you cannot find the relevant organization, please use the ‘Student’ option.
3. Fill in all the fields. You will receive an email with your login details and a link to download the WCEA app from the Google Play or Apple Store.
4. Once you receive the email, go to the app and change the password to a permanent one. Keep note of your username and password
5. Go to the ’Pathways’ tab, click on the 3 lines to use the ’Select Educator’ filter and select ’Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health’.
6. Download the 10 modules of this learning path.
7. Once you download the modules, they will be available in your ‘wallet’. You can access the wallet by clicking the ‘wallet’ button which is two across from the search button. You can access and complete the learning path offline.
8. Once you have completed the modules and can access internet, open the app, and your completion will be registered and CPD points and certificate awarded.
9. Stuck? View instructions here or reach out to support@wcea.education

Alliance of Nurses For Healthy Environments (CE credit available for US-based health professionals)

1. To access ANHE FIRST, register here: https://learning.envirn.org/login/signup.php
2. You must make a free account to access the videos.​​​​​
3. SECOND, once you have an account, you can access the course videos using this link: https://learning.envirn.org/course/index.php?categoryid=40 
4. In the United States, sometimes the ANHE website updates overnight. Please try to access the site at a different time, if possible, or using the Google Chrome browser. 

Original course webpage accessible here.

Climate change is impacting health and healthcare delivery globally and society’s ability to support healthy living. The effects of climate change on human health around the world is increasing the demand for a climate-informed nursing workforce as the impacts will only intensify in the coming years. The effects of climate change are already harming human health around the world, and impacts will only intensify in the coming years. Heat waves and rainstorms are becoming more deadly, disease outbreaks last longer and are seen in new regions, wildfire smoke from tinder-dry forests reduces air quality, and food and water security are threatened by extreme weather. There is an imperative for quick action on many fronts: to recognize and respond to climate-health threats; prevent climate change at its source by reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions; support “greener” systems throughout the economy, including healthcare; determine the health co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation; and communicate effectively about these issues to safeguard human health.

To meet these challenges, current and future nursing professionals globally must understand the dynamics governing the interactions of climate and health, the level of scientific understanding of those interactions, and potential adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building solutions, while carrying a respect for the processes and issues not yet fully understood.  Furthermore, the nursing profession needs to be able to apply these principles to individual and population level health needs to devise individual and locally meaningful public health solutions. Education is key in the effort to increase knowledge and skills among nursing professionals, clinicians, public health practitioners, emergency responders, educators, healthcare leaders, and policy makers in order to build capacity and so they may continue to serve as trusted voices within their professions and institutions.

The Course’s key goals are to:

• Increase nursing professionals’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and communication skills related to the climate crisis to: 1) improve patient care and public health practice and 2) serve as trusted messengers within their institutions, communities, and fields of practice.

• Equip interested nursing professionals with the knowledge, skills, strategies for advocacy, and actionable resources needed to disseminate education so that health effects of climate change and emergency preparedness can be incorporated more easily into pre- and post-licensure nursing education across the globe. 

• Build and strengthen an agile and informed nursing community around climate and health education, advocacy, and policy for health professionals with strong mentorship and expert support. 

How To Enroll:

World Continuing Education Alliance (CE credit available for select countries):

1. Register online through https://wcea.education/register/ 
2. Search for the flag of your country and select the organization you are a member of. If you cannot find the relevant organization, please use the ‘Student’ option.
3. Fill in all the fields. You will receive an email with your login details and a link to download the WCEA app from the Google Play or Apple Store.
4. Once you receive the email, go to the app and change the password to a permanent one. Keep note of your username and password
5. Go to the ’Courses’ tab, click on the 3 lines to use the ’Select Educator’ filter and select ’Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education’.
6. Download the 10 modules of this learning path.
7. Once you download the modules, they will be available in your ‘wallet’. You can access the wallet by clicking the ‘wallet’ button which is two across from the search button. You can access and complete the learning path offline.
8. Once you have completed the modules and can access internet, open the app, and your completion will be registered and CPD points and certificate awarded.
9. Stuck? Reach out to support@wcea.education

Alliance of Nurses For Healthy Environments (CE credit available for US-based health professionals)

1. To access ANHE FIRST, register here: https://learning.envirn.org/login/signup.php
2. You must make a free account to access the videos.​​​​​
3. SECOND, once you have an account, you can access the course videos using this link: https://learning.envirn.org/course/index.php?categoryid=45 
4. In the United States, sometimes the ANHE website updates overnight. Please try to access the site at a different time, if possible, or using the Google Chrome browser. 

Original course webpage accessible here.

Climate change is a health crisis that is causing escalating negative impacts on the lives and health of global communities, widening health disparities, increasing poverty, and threatening healthcare delivery, necessitating preparedness and comprehensive capacity-building across the health sector.  The African Region contributes the least to the cause of this crisis, yet it bears the greatest burden of suffering. Climate change has already caused significant health impacts through extreme weather and natural disasters like bushfires, floods, and mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. Both urban and rural areas face increasing exposure to extreme heat and poor air quality, harming health and wellbeing. Climate-driven drought will impact agriculture, nutrition, and access to clean water, affecting infants, small children, pregnant women, and the impoverished. These cascading health effects present urgent challenges to African health systems.

To meet these challenges, current and future health professionals in Africa must understand the dynamics governing the interactions of climate and health, the level of scientific understanding of those interactions, and potential adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building solutions. Furthermore, they need to be able to apply these principles to individual and population-level health needs to devise meaningful prescriptions and public health solutions for individuals and locals. Education is crucial, but the climate and health field lacks experts, knowledge, and educational programs. To address this, it's essential to enhance the knowledge and skills of researchers, clinicians, public health practitioners, emergency responders, educators, healthcare leaders, and policymakers. This will help them better protect society's health and well-being. The health sector must prepare for climate-related impacts and adapt to ensure continuity of operations and reduced environmental impact. Effective communication with the public about these changes is also vital.

The Africa Climate and Health Responder Course, developed through a partnership between the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE), the Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa (ASPHA), CDC-Africa, WHO AFRO, Project ECHO, and the CHANCE network will address this critical need.

The Course’s key goals are to:

• Enhance the knowledge, confidence, and communication abilities of current and future health professionals concerning the climate crisis to: 1) improve population care and public health practice and 2) serve as credible advocates within their institutions, communities, and professional domains.
• Equip interested current health professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to educate their institutions’ own learners so that health effects of climate change and emergency preparedness can be incorporated more easily into pre- and post-licensure training across the globe. 
• Build and strengthen an agile and informed community around climate and health education, advocacy, and policy for health professionals with strong mentorship and expert support.
• Engage health researchers in Africa about climate and health research agendas and current pathways to funding support.

How to Enroll:

World Continuing Education Alliance (CE credit available for select countries):

1. Register online through https://wcea.education/register/ 
2. Search for the flag of your country and select the organization you are a member of. If you cannot find the relevant organization, please use the ‘Student’ option.
3. Fill in all the fields. You will receive an email with your login details and a link to download the WCEA app from the Google Play or Apple Store.
4. Once you receive the email, go to the app and change the password to a permanent one. Keep note of your username and password
5. Go to the ’Pathways’ tab, click on the 3 lines to use the ’Select Educator’ filter and select ’Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health’.
6. Download the 10 modules of this learning path.
7. Once you download the modules, they will be available in your ‘wallet’. You can access the wallet by clicking the ‘wallet’ button which is two across from the search button. You can access and complete the learning path offline.
8. Once you have completed the modules and can access internet, open the app, and your completion will be registered and CPD points and certificate awarded.
9. Stuck? View instructions here or reach out to support@wcea.education

Original course webpage accessible here.

Coming soon!