Planetary Health and Planetary Health Report Card

Planetary Health Curriculum

Planetary Health Curriculum focus area examines how well the nursing program integrates climate change, environmental health, and planetary health concepts into its courses, including their impact on individual and community health, mental health, infectious disease patterns, food and water security, and marginalized populations. It also assesses how the program addresses sustainable healthcare, such as plant-based diets, the carbon footprint, and waste management in healthcare systems, along with the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and strategies for discussing these issues with patients.

General results: Planetary Health Curriculum focus area examines how well the nursing program integrates climate change, environmental health effects on health, extreme weather, and their implications on mental and physical well-being. Recommendations for enhancing the curriculum include better integration of planetary health concepts across assignments, lectures, and discussions, and the training of faculty to utilize evidence-based resources​.

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Interdisciplinary Research in
Health and the Environment

The Interdisciplinary Research focus area explores faculty engagement in planetary health research, the presence of dedicated research centers, support for scholarly dissemination, and community involvement in shaping research agendas. It also looks at the availability of a centralized planetary health website, the hosting of related conferences, and membership in relevant organizations.

General results: WSU College of Nursing encourages faculty and student-led research on planetary health, promoting interdisciplinary approaches. There is a focus on areas like environmental health, climate change impacts, health equity, and sustainability. Faculty actively engage in and disseminate research related to these themes. A recommendation is to create a centralized webpage to highlight planetary health research, facilitate collaborations, and possibly join networks like the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE)​.

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Community Outreach and Advocacy in
Environment and Health

Community Outreach and Advocacy focuses on partnerships with community organizations, availability of courses or events for public education on planetary health, regular communications on sustainability, continuing education opportunities, policy advocacy, and partnerships with healthcare institutions for public education.

General results: WSU College of Nursing participates in a variety of community outreach and advocacy activities related to planetary health. These include educational presentations on climate change, wildfires, and health. Efforts are made to engage with local, state, national, and international communities. However, there is a recommendation to strengthen partnerships with regional organizations, community groups, and healthcare providers to enhance education and advocacy efforts around planetary health and sustainability.

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Support for Student-Led Planetary Health Initiatives

The Support for Student-Led Initiatives focus area assesses whether there are opportunities for student representation in decision-making on planetary health, dedicated student groups with faculty support, research opportunities, support for student-led sustainability projects, and chances for students to teach or present on related topics. It also evaluates the presence of co-curricular initiatives, such as community resilience projects, speaker series, and cultural events.

General results: Although some student-led projects exist on topics like climate change and sustainability, there is no specific student initiative dedicated to planetary health education. Student volunteers have contributed to preparing and engaging in the Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC) evaluation. A recommendation is to establish a student task force focused on planetary health, supported by faculty and administrators, and to develop a dedicated planetary health section on the College of Nursing website.

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Campus Sustainability

Sustainability initiatives are among the most visible aspects of planetary health efforts, especially in higher education. The healthcare sector has a critical role in addressing environmental impacts, as it is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. By integrating sustainability practices, the healthcare industry can help protect and restore local and global ecosystems. This focus area explores the commitment of WSU College of Nursing to sustainable operations, including renewable energy use, waste reduction, and eco-friendly procurement, to ensure a healthier future.

General results: WSU has strengths in sustainability practices, particularly regarding lab supplies, sustainable procurement, and building practices on the Spokane campus. However, there is a need for a comprehensive plan for carbon neutrality and divestment from fossil fuels. The report recommends developing sustainability guidelines for events, training, composting, and dining practices, and enhancing collaboration with the WSU Sustainability Task Force​.

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Resources for Students & Faculty

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Planetary Health Websites

GLOBAL

• Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education: Climate Resources for Health Education
• Sao Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health
• Health care without harm
• The Global Climate and Health Alliance
• United Nations: Climate Action
• Climate Action . org
• Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network, International

GOVERNMENT

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report – The Planetary Health Roadmap and Action Plan (PDF)
• World Health Organization: Climate Change and Health
• World Health  Organization: Fast Facts on Climate and Health
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Climate & Health
• NOAA Climate.gov
• NASA: Climate Change
• National Institute of Health: Climate Change and Health Initiative

UNITED STATES

• Planetary Health Alliance
• Roadmap to Planetary Health (PDF)
• The Rockefeller Foundation: The Lancet Commission on Planetary Health: Safeguarding Human Health in the Anthropocene Epoch (PDF)
• The Lancet Planetary Health home page
• U.S Climate and Health Alliance
• U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Climate Change and Human Health
• University of Minnesota: School of Nursing Center ofr Planetary Health
• Practice Greenhealth: Sustainability Solutions for Healthcare
• Climate for Health
• Climate Central
• United States Climate Alliance: Members
• U.S Climate and Health Alliance

NURSING

• Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)
• Nurses Climate Challenge: Education
• American Nurses Association (ANA): Environmental Health
• American Nurses Association-Planetary and Global Health: IAC Planetary and Global Health Resources 2024 (PDF)
• National Student Nurses Association: NSNA and Climate Change
• Nurses Drawdown: Nurses Standing up to Climate Change
• National League for Nursing: Climate
• American Nurses Association (ANA): Official Position Statements on Climate Change
• Planetary Health Report Card
• National Nurses United
• Washington State Nurses Association: Climate Challenge

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PLANETARY HEALTH LITERATURE

• Demorest, S., Cook, C., Schenk, E., Harris, L., & Earley, A. (2024). School of nursing climate commitment: Nursing faculty bring climate to the classroom. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(5), 589. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21050589
• Brand, G., Wise, S., Bedi, G., & Kickett, R. (2023). Embedding indigenous knowledges and voices in planetary health education. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(1), e97–e102. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00308-4
• Evans‐Agnew, R., LeClair, J., & Sheppard, D. (2023). Just‐relations and responsibility for planetary health: The global nurse agenda for climate justice. Nursing Inquiry, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12563
• Glauberman, G., Bray, M., & Freeman, K. (2023). Planetary health and nursing: A call to action. Hawai’i Journal of Health & Social Welfare, 82(5), 120–122.
• Portela Dos Santos, O., Melly, P., Joost, S., & Verloo, H. (2023). Climate change, environmental health, and challenges for nursing discipline. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5682. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095682
• Redvers, N., Faerron Guzmán, C. A., & Parkes, M. W. (2023). Towards an educational praxis for planetary health: A call for transformative, inclusive, and integrative approaches for learning and relearning in the anthropocene. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(1), e77–e85. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00332-1
• Vandenberg, S. Y. (2023). Planetary health. Nurse Educator, 48(6), 293–297. https://doi.org/10.1097/nne.0000000000001420
• Amerson, R. M., Boice, O., Mitchell, H., & Bible, J. (2022). Nursing faculty’s perceptions of climate change and sustainability. Nursing Education Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nep.0000000000000991
• LeClair, J., & Potter, T. (2022). Planetary health nursing. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 122(4), 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.naj.0000827336.29891.9b
• Redvers, N., Celidwen, Y., Schultz, C., Horn, O., Githaiga, C., Vera, M., Perdrisat, M., Mad Plume, L., Kobei, D., Kain, M. C., Poelina, A., Rojas, J. N., & Blondin, B. (2022). The determinants of planetary health: an Indigenous consensus perspective. The Lancet. Planetary health, 6(2), e156–e163. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00354-5
• Astle, B. (2021). Planetary health in nursing: A transdisciplinary equity-centered approach. Creative Nursing, 27(4), 237–241. https://doi.org/10.1891/cn-2021-0027
• Butterfield, P., Leffers, J., & Vásquez, M. (2021). Nursing’s pivotal role in global climate action. BMJ, n1049. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1049
• Ergin, E., Altinel, B., & Aktas, E. (2021). A mixed method study on global warming, climate change and the role of public health nurses from the perspective of nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 107, 105144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105144
• Iyer, H. S., DeVille, N. V., Stoddard, O., Cole, J., Myers, S. S., Li, H., Elliott, E. G., Jimenez, M. P., James, P., & Golden, C. D. (2021). Sustaining planetary health through systems thinking: Public health’s critical role. SSM – Population Health, 15, 100844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100844
• Rogers, H. (2021). A daily practice for planetary health. Creative Nursing, 27(4), 267–268. https://doi.org/10.1891/cn-2021-0025
• Barna, S., Maric, F., Simons, J., Kumar, S., & Blankestijn, P. J. (2020). Education for the anthropocene: Planetary health, sustainable health care, and the health workforce. Medical Teacher, 42(10), 1091–1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2020.1798914
• Kalogirou, M., Olson, J., & Davidson, S. (2020). Nursing’s metaparadigm, climate change and planetary health. Nursing Inquiry, 27(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12356
• Moysés, S. J., & Soares, R. C. (2019). Planetary health in the anthropocene. Health Promotion International, 34(Supplement_1), i28–i36. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz012
• Potter, T. (2019). Planetary health: The next frontier in nursing education. Creative Nursing, 25(3), 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1891/1078-4535.25.3.201
• Leffers, J., Levy, R., Nicholas, P. K., & Sweeney, C. F. (2017). Mandate for the nursing profession to address climate change through nursing education. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(6), 679–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12331
• The Lancet Health and Climate Policy (PDF)
• The Lancet: Views of health professionals on climate change and health: a multinational survey study
• The Lancet: Planetary health learning objectives: foundational knowledge for global health education in an era of climate change (PDF)
• Climate Change and Population Health: Incorporating Stages of nursing Political development

PLANETARY HEALTH REPORT CARD LITERATURE

• The Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC) 2024: Inspiring Change in Healthcare Education
• Hampshire, K., Islam, N., Kissel, B., Chase, H., & Gundling, K. (2022). The planetary health report card: A student-led initiative to inspire planetary health in medical schools. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(5), e449–e454. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00045-6

INDIGENOUS VOICES

• Just‐relations and responsibility for planetary health: The global nurse agenda for climate justice
• ‘A change of heart’: Indigenous perspectives from the Onjisay Aki Summit on climate change (PDF)
• Indigenous perspectives on education for sustainable healthcare
• Two-Eyed Seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing (PDF)
• Just transition in the northwest territories: Insights and values from indigenous and non-indigenous northerners (PDF)
• The determinants of planetary health: an Indigenous consensus perspective
• Molecular Decolonization: An Indigenous Microcosm Perspective of Planetary Health (PDF)
• How Indigenous Communities Are Adapting To Climate Change: Insights From The Climate-Ready Tribes Initiative (PDF)
• Tribally led planetary health education in southeast Alaska (PDF)
• Indigenous Peoples: Traditional knowledges, climate change, and health (PDF)
• Climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous Peoples’ health and wellbeing: A systematic umbrella review (PDF)

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