Trainee Movements - Bringing Climate Action to Medical Education: The symposium kicked off with a first session focused on bringing climate action to medical education with presentations from Karly Hampshire, MD, Co-Founder of the Planetary Health Report Card, and Harleen Marwah, MD, MS, Founding Chair of Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF). Both speakers detailed their advocacy efforts to spotlight climate change as a public health crisis that should be addressed through policies, practices, and most importantly, education.
Including Equity in Climate and Health Education through Institutions: The second session featured lightning presentations by current medical school residents and faculty aiming to develop and integrate sustainable curricula on climate and health equity into various levels of medical education for institutions across the country. Institutions including Harvard University, George Washington University, Stanford University, and Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York shared climate health initiatives and online case studies that are in the early stages of being integrated into medical education curriculum.
Keynote Speaker – Our Children’s Trust: The third session transitioned into a powerful keynote presentation by Julia Olsen, Founder, Executive Director, and Chief Legal Counsel of Our Children’s Trust. This organization is the world’s only not-for-profit law firm to date that is dedicated exclusively to representing young people in lawsuits against their governments to protect their fundamental human right to a safe climate. Julia’s presentation featured several cases and testimonials that her firm has successfully brought to trial, including a landmark case “YOUTH v GOV” that was spotlighted in a feature length documentary on Netflix.
Empowering Tomorrow – Cutting Edge Climate Health Education: UCGHI Director of Education, Dr. Oladele Ogunseitan, and UCGHI Center for Planetary Health Co-Director, Dr. Woutrina Smith participated in the fourth session, which focused on empowering the next generation of climate and health education through innovative approaches and accessible opportunities. Fellow UC researchers and faculty members from UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCSF, and UC San Diego shared their experiences engaging students through interdisciplinary avenues to incorporate climate change and health into their curricula while also activating the health sector to address climate impacts.
Healthcare Leadership Panel: The fifth session wrapped up the symposium with a panel featuring leadership from UC Davis, UCSF, and Stanford. This group of leaders in medical education share their insights on how their respective institutions are preparing to address the needs of healthcare professionals responding to patient populations experiencing the impacts of climate change.
The UC Center for Climate, Health and Equity, led by Co-Directors, Arianne Teherani, PhD, and Sheri Weiser, MD, MPH, MA, “seeks to drive climate action that safeguards health through four pillars – research, education, health system sustainability, and policy.” The Center collaborates across all 10 UC campuses.
All session recordings from the 4th Annual NorCal Symposium are now available here. For more information about the UC Center for Climate, Health and Equity, please visit their website or send an email to climatehealth@ucsf.edu.
UCGHI Director of Education, Dr. Oladele Ogunseitan (bottom right) presenting his published article on the integration of climate change education into health sciences curricula for all professionals during session four of the symposium.Dr. Woutrina Smith presenting on behalf of the UCGHI Center for Planetary Health during session four focused on empowering the next generation of climate and health education through accessible online education and training opportunities.Session four moderator, Oladele Ogunseitan, PhD, posing introductory questions to the group of speakers (counterclockwise starting top left: Woutrina Smith, DVM, MPVM, PhD, Fonna Forman, PhD, Jyoti Mishra, PhD, Elissa Epel, PhD).
Congratulations to UCGHI Education Director Dele Ogunseitan for receiving $150,000 from UC Online for digital inclusion to further support UCGHI's educational activities across UC in global health! Learn more about each award below:
Title: Development and Institutionalization of Professional Competency in Digital Inclusion for Education Programs in the UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI)
Amount: $70,000
The project aims to convene two workshops with faculty from all 10 UC campuses, and to develop online training activity for professionals and faculty members on digital inclusion in global health education.
Title: Global Health in California Context: An Inclusive Approach
Amount: $40,000
The collaborative project links the educational mission of two systemwide programs, namely, the UC Center Sacramento (UCCS) that educates California’s future leaders in the craft of politics and policymaking, while making the expertise of faculty of the nation’s leading university available to decision-makers; and the UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI) that stimulates, nurtures, and promotes global health research, education, and collaboration to advance the University’s global health agenda. The course will be developed and implemented for cross-campus enrollment and available for students admitted to the UCCS internship program.
Title: Foundations of One Health: An Inclusive Approach
Amount: $40,000
The project will result in the development and implement of the first online undergraduate course based on the competencies of One Health available for cross-campus enrollment in the UC system. This course will be an upper division course for all UC undergraduate students and graduate students who wish to gain a fundamental understanding of the One Health approach.
UCSF master's program in global health celebrates 10 years of impact
July 24, 2018
Online global health courses supplement campus offerings
June 1, 2018
UC undergraduates can learn about a variety of topics in global health while earning credit by taking global health courses online.
Developed and instructed by UCGHI’s faculty partners, the courses connect UC students interested in global health, teach them fundamental concepts and complex issues, and inspire them to explore and contribute to this growing discipline.
From Migration and Health, to Foundations of Epidemiology and Nutrition in Global Health, UCGHI’s online courses offer students opportunities to dive into a topic that interests them, along with renowned global health faculty and students from all 10 campuses.
Introduction to Global Health
Provides a foundational understanding of the global burden of disease and disability, including the major causes of morbidity and mortality and the risk factors that contribute to health disparities across different populations.
Nutrition and Global Health Explores nutritional risk factors associated with the development of chronic diseases and the role of nutritional medicine in prevention including food safety, communicable diseases, supplements, and regulatory issues.
Course catalog
Climate Change and Disaster Management
Examines the social, economic, environmental and health impacts of anthropogenic climate change through the lens of multiple disciplines, including public health, anthropology, and emergency management and preparedness.
Ethics in Global Health
Introduces ethical issues in global health in both developed and developing countries, including the history of ethics, the development of ethical codes of conduct, and training in the responsible conduct of student research.
Global Population, Health and Environment
Examines concepts of demography, health, and environmental change from around the world using a planetary health framework. Engaging in current issues on the effects that our populations have on local and global environments, and the effects that our environments have on human and animal populations fosters cross-cultural and multidisciplinary problem solving.
Migration and Health
Provides an introduction to the history, current status, and future of migration and health using the social determinants of health model to foster a multidisciplinary analysis of migrant health disparities.
Poverty and Development (Winter 2019)
Explores concepts of poverty and human development and considers critically the strategies used by the global North to reduce global inequities, with particular reference to health.
Foundations of Epidemiology (Winter 2019)
Explores emerging infectious disease concerns and growing numbers of chronic health conditions through the lens of population health problem solving. Methodologies in study design and measurements are applied to real-life problems.
Spring 2018 brings more global health courses to UC students
February 1, 2018
In an increasingly connected world, issues related to migration, population dynamics and disaster management are of growing concern for many disciplines, including global health.
UC students are eager to find solutions.
To help them get there, three new courses – developed by the UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI) and UC’s Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (ILTI) – will be available for spring 2018 registration. The courses address current issues in global health and offer UC students opportunities to explore a field that is growing in popularity.
Newly available courses include:
Migration and Health
Provides an introduction to the history, current status, and future of migration and health using the social determinants of health model to foster a multidisciplinary analysis of migrant health disparities.
Global Population, Health and Environment
Using a planetary health framework, this course examines concepts of demography, health, and environmental change from around the world. Engaging in current issues on the effects that our populations have on local and global environments, and the effects that our environments have on human and animal populations fosters cross-cultural and multidisciplinary problem solving.
Climate Change and Disaster Management
Examines the social, economic, environmental and health impacts of anthropogenic climate change through the lens of multiple disciplines, including public health, anthropology, and emergency management and preparedness.
UCGHI’s suite of online courses launched last fall with an Introduction to Global Health course as well as Ethics in Global Health. These courses equip students with the theoretical and practical knowledge they need to forge a career path in global health.
Global health attracts students from all disciplines – from psychology and engineering to economics and computer science – because global health issues are truly interdisciplinary.
“Introducing students to the idea that immigration itself is a social determinant of health is a core component of our course, and we use the online environment to expose students to the wide range of disciplinary approaches involved in understanding and addressing migration related health inequities,” explained Nancy Burke, PhD, MA, Migration and Health course co-creator and professor of public health at UC Merced.
“Having students from different disciplines and campuses come together really speaks to the collaborative nature of global health as a field,” said Woutrina Smith, DVM, MPVM, PhD, Global Population, Health and Environment course co-creator and professor of infectious disease epidemiology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Successful projects in the real world require high levels of coordination and cooperation, and that’s exactly what the online format allows us to practice,” she added.
