Medical Students' Views on Climate Change and Health: A Pakistani Perspective

Climate change is a significant global problem with serious health impacts. The Lancet Commission even called it the top health challenge of this century. Air pollution alone claimed millions of lives in 2015. It also makes extreme weather, displacement, mental health issues, diseases, food shortages, and malnutrition worse, especially in countries like Pakistan, which relies heavily on agriculture and has limited resources. In February 2024, a study looked at how Pakistani medical students perceive climate change's effects on health. A survey of 632 students was done using an online questionnaire. The average age was 21.

17, with about half being male and half female. Students showed a high awareness (Mean=35. 6, SD=5. 2) of climate change's health impacts, with most blaming human activity (88%) and expecting serious future effects (89. 1%). Key concerns included illness from air quality (91%), water availability (86%), healthcare disruption (85%), cold (83%), and flooding-related displacement (87%). Mental health impacts were recognized by 68%. Age, income, and gender influenced these perceptions. This highlights the importance of adding climate change and health education to medical curriculums to prepare future healthcare workers.

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