The World Organization of Family Doctors Air Health Train the Trainer Program: lessons learned and implications for planetary health education

Alice McGushin; Enrique Falceto de Barros; Mayara Floss; Yousser Mohammad; Achiri E Ndikum; Christophe Ngendahayo; Peter A Oduor; Sadia Sultana; Rachel Wong; Alan Abelsohn

doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00218-2

The World Organization of Family Doctors Air Health Train the Trainer Program: lessons learned and implications for planetary health education

Lancet Planet Health. 2023 Jan;7(1):e55-e63. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00218-2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: alice.mcgushin2@nhs.net.
² Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde-Programa de Pós Graduação de Educação em Ciências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
³ Department of Pathology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁴ GARD-WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Training for Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Comorbidities, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria; School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Al-Sham Private University, Damascus, Syria.
⁵ Department of Animal Biology, The University of Yaoundé 1, Yaounde, Cameroon.
⁶ CDP Africa, Center for Development Policy, Kigali, Rwanda.
⁷ School of Public Health, Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kisumu, Kenya.
⁸ Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital, BSM Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁹ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

PMID: 36608949
DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00218-2

Abstract

The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) Air Health Train the Trainer Program was a pilot educational programme that focused on a key aspect of planetary health: the intersection of air pollution, human health, and climate change. In this Viewpoint, we-the coordinators of the training programme and some of the most active trainers-briefly describe the programme and discuss implementation successes, challenges, and lessons learned, which relate to the creation and use of training materials appropriate for health professionals in low-income and middle-income countries, strategies to improve the retention of trainers to deliver activities in their communities, and the development of stronger networks and further tools to support trainers. These findings could be applied to future education and training programmes.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Curriculum*
Health Education
Health Personnel
Humans
Physicians*