Welcome to this continuing education module titled planetary health nursing. We're really so pleased that you are taking the time to learn more about planetary health, the intersection of climate change, and how nurses are engaging and taking action. My name is Ann Kurth and I serve as the Dean at the Yale School of Nursing. In addition to Yale School of Nursing, this continuing education module is co-developed by Health Care Without Harm and the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. We'd been joined by distinguished nursing and clinical faculty members with expertise at the intersection of planetary health, climate change, and health. Planetary health is a developing scientific framework that looks at human-caused environmental degradation, impact on all species and ecosystems, and connections to human health. The field has roots in many systems of indigenous knowledge, as well as the one health approach of human, animal, and environmental science. The field of planetary health is relatively new for many health practitioners being launched in the 2015 report by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Lancet Commission on Planetary Health. That report reviewed the urgency of the global environmental degradation problem and the domains in which human health is being impacted. This report also served as the foundation for the Planetary Health Alliance, as well as the Consortium of Universities for Global Health to promote research, education and policy that promote the interconnectedness of human and environmental health, the health of all people and the planet. The theoretical framework of planetary health draws from indigenous wisdom, first law and integrative and holistic health theories, as well as the fields of population health, ecology, environmental health ethics, and systems thinking. The field of planetary health has begun to take shape at many universities after it became clear that a systems-based approach to human health, population health, plant and animal health, and ecosystems health is needed. The concepts of planetary health address the impacts of humans on the environment and connect the ways that environmental degradation over multiple systems impacts human health. The field explores how water scarcity, changing food systems, urbanization, shifts in biodiversity and pathogens and vectors, natural disasters, climate change, land use and land cover, global pollution and biogeochemical flows impact the prevalence of non communicable and infectious diseases, mental health, nutrition, and social and economic well-being. These interconnected determinants of health are important for nurses to understand and be able to integrate into their health care practice, community health, research, education and policy and advocacy work. Nurses as the most trusted profession in the US and the largest health workforce in every country are crucial to how we move forward to reduce environmental damage and reap the health co-benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental damage. Nurses also are key to adapt our health systems to be more ready for these health impacts to safeguard health. What do we need to know? As you navigate through this course, you'll see seven self-paced modules. Each week is one module and has content on a specific climate change impact area. This course covers six climate change impact areas, drought, flooding, communicable and vector-borne diseases, extreme heat, hurricanes and wildfires. For your convenience, we have two ways you can complete the course. We've made the content available to you in an audio format, and you can also read the content at your own pace. The last module contains case studies and other resources to help you apply planetary health concepts to your nursing practice and beyond. We look forward to hearing your ideas, case studies, and other examples in the discussion forum. Thank you for your engagement. Good luck with the course.
