Sustainable healthcare education: A systematic review of the evidence and barriers to inclusion

Abstract

Purpose of the article

Health professions education is failing to prepare students to practice sustainable healthcare despite the climate crisis an urgent provision of educational opportunities is required. This systematic review aimed to synthesise educational approaches applied to sustainable healthcare education within health professions curricula and critically evaluate their impact.

Materials and methods

Databases searched: APA PsycInfo, BEI, CINAHL, Embase, ERIC, Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, BASE, DART-Europe, EThOS and ProQuest. Secondary searching techniques were also utilised, with searching conducted October 2021. Eligible studies included healthcare professional students/trainees, exposed to sustainable healthcare education, and evaluated through impact on knowledge, attitudes or skills. Empirical studies of any publication status were included. Non-English language studies were excluded. Eligible studies were quality assessed using JBI (2022) critical appraisal checklists and synthesised narratively.

Results

Twenty-three studies were included, comprising 3343 participants and seven health professions. Studies primarily adopted a quasi-experimental design and demonstrated variable quality. Most common educational approaches were workshops and clinical skills sessions, though eight different approaches were observed. Positive impacts were achieved for knowledge, attitudes and skills.

Conclusions

Diverse approaches have been applied to sustainable healthcare education, though no superior approach is evident. Instead, many effective approaches are outlined, to be adopted in alignment with the learning outcomes.

Keywords:

• Multiprofessional
• public health
• health promotion
• best evidence medical education
• staff development

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mr David Curtis for his help in preparing the search strategy for this systematic review. This study was completed in partial fulfilment of an MSc in Health Professions Education at Hull York Medical School.

Author contribution

All authors contributed to the planning of this project and preparation of the manuscript. L.B. and K.M. undertook study selection, data extraction and quality assessments, with T.J. as third reviewer. L.B., P.C., and T.J. completed data analysis. All authors approved the final research report and accept full accountability of its contents.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Glossary

Sustainable healthcare education: Is defined as ‘education about the impact of climate change and ecosystem alterations on health and the impact of the healthcare industry on the aforementioned’.

Teherani A, Nishimura H, Apatira L, Newman T, Ryan S. 2017. Identification of core objectives for teaching sustainable healthcare education. Med Educ Online. 22(1):1386042.

Data availability statement

The data collected for this review is available upon request from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lucy Bray

Lucy Bray, MBBS (Hons), MSc, FHEA is currently working as a public health trainee at Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation, Denmark.

Katerina Meznikova

Katerina Meznikova, MBBS, PGCert HPE, FHEA is currently working as a public health trainee in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Paul Crampton

Paul Crampton, PhD, MSc, SFHEA is the Programme Director for the MSc Health Professions Education and Interim Director of the Health Professions Education Unit, Hull York Medical School, UK.

Trevor Johnson

Trevor Johnson, MSc, MHPE, FDSRCS, is a Programme Tutor at the Health Professions Education Unit, Hull York Medical School, UK, and an editor at Cochrane Oral Health.