CCGH 250
Center for Community & Global Health (CCGH)
| Dept. Contact | Evelyn Gonzalez |
| Location | SSOM 276 |
| Phone | 708-216-6318 |
| CCGH@luc.edu |
| Department | Center for Community & Global Health |
| Course Number: | CCGH-250 |
| Course Title: | Climate Change and Human Health |
| No. of Students | No limit |
| Site: | SSOM |
| Supervisor: | Aaron Michelfelder, MD |
| Duration: | 1.0 week, part-time credit |
| Periods Offered: | Jan-April (Spring Semester) |
| Prerequisite: | None. |
| Special Note: |
Designed for M2 pre-clinical medical students; M1 students may be considered for their spring semester. |
| Description: |
Climate change is one of the greatest public health and health equity threats of our lifetimes. Anthropogenic activity has caused an increase in average global temperatures that have been linked to a warming planet, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events that threaten food security, housing stability, and health outcomes. From the worsening wildfires out West, to the frozen streets of Texas last winter, from the deadly flooding and storms sweeping the South and Northeast this fall, to our own threat of flooding here in Chicago, the consequences of climate change are already at our doorstep. Countless future catastrophes will continue to wreak havoc on our communities in our lifetimes. As future physicians, it is our responsibility to be educated in regards to the effects that climate change and its consequences will have on human health. This includes heat island effects, the impact of smoke and pollution on respiratory health and asthma, the impact of flooding on disease spread, emerging infectious diseases, and mental health consequences of livelihood destruction, to name a few. It is also imperative that physicians understand how climate change contributes to the further exacerbation of health inequities. Poor and underserved communities have been exposed to the effects of the climate crisis for many years, feel the most extreme and volatile effects, and often have the least resources to cope with its consequences. Social and economic determinants of health have been laid glaringly obvious by the climate-related emergence of the novel zoonotic coronavirus responsible for the current deadly and costly pandemic. Recognizing these realities and learning about how to advocate for a sustainable and just future for all is a physician’s duty. This elective will involve an hourly once-weekly meeting to either a) listen to an expert in the field lecture on a specific climate-related health topic, or b) gather to discuss current medical and scientific literature detailing the effects of climate change on various aspects of human health. For these discussion sessions, students will be assigned one week of the semester to informally present a relevant or recent journal article relating to climate change and health. We hope that the topics of these scientific journal articles will focus on current climate-related events and their health consequences or on subjects not touched upon in the lectures (such as effects on mental health, pregnancy, dermatology, etc.). At the end of the semester, students may choose to either write a brief literature review on one climate health topic or create an informational graphic or video to educate fellow future health professionals about the climate crisis.
TENTATIVE Spring 2022 Dates: Week of 1/11 (2 hrs): LECTURE Week of 1/18 (3 hrs) Week of 1/25 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 2/1 (1.5 hrs) Week of 2/8 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 2/15 (1.5 hrs) Week of 2/22 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 3/1 (1.5 hrs) Week of 3/15 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 3/22 (1.5 hrs) Week of 3/29 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 4/5 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 4/12 (2 hrs)
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| Method of Evaluation: | Students will be responsible for presenting one scholarly article or study at one of the several journal club sessions over the course of the semester. Students will provide a link to a pdf of the article for fellow students and then summarize the findings in a short, informal presentation and discuss why they found the article interesting or relevant. At the end of the course, students will have the option to either a) write a two-page paper discussing the current literature covering one climate health related topic, or b) design an informational graphic or short social-media-style video to educate peers about a climate health topic. These will be submitted to the Faculty Supervisor for pass/fail evaluation. |
| Dept. Contact | Evelyn Gonzalez |
| Location | SSOM 276 |
| Phone | 708-216-6318 |
| CCGH@luc.edu |
| Department | Center for Community & Global Health |
| Course Number: | CCGH-250 |
| Course Title: | Climate Change and Human Health |
| No. of Students | No limit |
| Site: | SSOM |
| Supervisor: | Aaron Michelfelder, MD |
| Duration: | 1.0 week, part-time credit |
| Periods Offered: | Jan-April (Spring Semester) |
| Prerequisite: | None. |
| Special Note: |
Designed for M2 pre-clinical medical students; M1 students may be considered for their spring semester. |
| Description: |
Climate change is one of the greatest public health and health equity threats of our lifetimes. Anthropogenic activity has caused an increase in average global temperatures that have been linked to a warming planet, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events that threaten food security, housing stability, and health outcomes. From the worsening wildfires out West, to the frozen streets of Texas last winter, from the deadly flooding and storms sweeping the South and Northeast this fall, to our own threat of flooding here in Chicago, the consequences of climate change are already at our doorstep. Countless future catastrophes will continue to wreak havoc on our communities in our lifetimes. As future physicians, it is our responsibility to be educated in regards to the effects that climate change and its consequences will have on human health. This includes heat island effects, the impact of smoke and pollution on respiratory health and asthma, the impact of flooding on disease spread, emerging infectious diseases, and mental health consequences of livelihood destruction, to name a few. It is also imperative that physicians understand how climate change contributes to the further exacerbation of health inequities. Poor and underserved communities have been exposed to the effects of the climate crisis for many years, feel the most extreme and volatile effects, and often have the least resources to cope with its consequences. Social and economic determinants of health have been laid glaringly obvious by the climate-related emergence of the novel zoonotic coronavirus responsible for the current deadly and costly pandemic. Recognizing these realities and learning about how to advocate for a sustainable and just future for all is a physician’s duty. This elective will involve an hourly once-weekly meeting to either a) listen to an expert in the field lecture on a specific climate-related health topic, or b) gather to discuss current medical and scientific literature detailing the effects of climate change on various aspects of human health. For these discussion sessions, students will be assigned one week of the semester to informally present a relevant or recent journal article relating to climate change and health. We hope that the topics of these scientific journal articles will focus on current climate-related events and their health consequences or on subjects not touched upon in the lectures (such as effects on mental health, pregnancy, dermatology, etc.). At the end of the semester, students may choose to either write a brief literature review on one climate health topic or create an informational graphic or video to educate fellow future health professionals about the climate crisis.
TENTATIVE Spring 2022 Dates: Week of 1/11 (2 hrs): LECTURE Week of 1/18 (3 hrs) Week of 1/25 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 2/1 (1.5 hrs) Week of 2/8 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 2/15 (1.5 hrs) Week of 2/22 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 3/1 (1.5 hrs) Week of 3/15 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 3/22 (1.5 hrs) Week of 3/29 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 4/5 (1.5 hrs): LECTURE Week of 4/12 (2 hrs)
|
| Method of Evaluation: | Students will be responsible for presenting one scholarly article or study at one of the several journal club sessions over the course of the semester. Students will provide a link to a pdf of the article for fellow students and then summarize the findings in a short, informal presentation and discuss why they found the article interesting or relevant. At the end of the course, students will have the option to either a) write a two-page paper discussing the current literature covering one climate health related topic, or b) design an informational graphic or short social-media-style video to educate peers about a climate health topic. These will be submitted to the Faculty Supervisor for pass/fail evaluation. |