Climate Change and Health – TTMSA Trinidad and Tobago

Name of the activity: Climate Change and Health

Country/NMO: TTMSA Trinidad and Tobago

Program: Environment and Health

Contact information: contact [email protected] to get in touch with the Activity Coordinator

Type of the activity: First-time Activity

Category: Campaign

Focus area: Climate Change

Sustainable Development Goals addressed: SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 13 (Climate Action)

Problem statement:

Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Caribbean countries and economies are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and are at significant risk due to their geography and location. To address this problem SCOPH aims to sensitize our population to climate change and its effect on health via an online campaign and  webinar on the importance of the One Health and the impact climate change on infectious diseases.

Target groups:

• General population
• Medical students
• Healthcare Students

Beneficiaries:

• General population
• Medical students
• Healthcare Students

Objectives:

1. To educate medical students on the impact of climate change on health via an online campaign and webinar.
2. To provide information on the impact of climate change on infectious diseases via a webinar.
3. To highlight the importance of advocating for climate change and health via the  influence from future healthcare students and a webinar.
4. To highlight the impact of the healthcare system as a contributor to climate change and possible solutions via the one health approach. 

Indicators of Success:

1. Participants score at least 80% or more on the online quiz based on the information shared during the campaign.
2. At least 80% of participants of the webinar are able to define climate change
3. At least 80% of the participants have increased their knowledge on the impact of climate change on infectious diseases.
4. At least 80% of the participants of the webinar have increased their knowledge on one health and its importance in tackling climate change.

Methodology:

The activity consisted of an online campaign that took place over 2 weeks. A SWG consisting of  14 individuals were assigned roles as researchers, graphic designers and PROs for the online campaign that took place between 9th- 21st May via our Instagram page (@publichealthtt).

1st week:  the opinions of climate change and how we can address it as medical students were highlighted by our NMO’s president, VPI and NPO from JAMSA. Local research on the topic of climate change and health was also shared.

2nd week:  webinar where Professor Alok Kumar and Christopher Oura discussed the impact of climate change on health with focus on infectious diseases and the one health approach to tackling this problem. The campaign continued and covered topics such as the  impact of climate change on Health in the Caribbean and T&T, solutions, the role of the health care professional & youth in promoting climate change and organizations in our country that advocate for climate change and health.

Plans for evaluation:

Quiz consisting of  5 multiple choice questions based on the information shared during the campaign.

Pre and post evaluation form using Likert type scale to rate knowledge on the following topics from 1- 5 ( 1= poor knowledge, 5= excellent knowledge). 

Climate Change

Impact of climate change on infectious diseases

One Health

Advocacy on climate change

External collaborations:

none