Equipping our public health nutrition workforce to promote planetary health: a case example of tertiary education co-designed with students

Objective:

The public health nutrition workforce is well placed to contribute to bold climate action; however, tertiary educators are seeking practical examples of how to adequately prepare our future workforce. This study examines the responses of university students engaged in a co-designed planetary health education workshop as part of their public health nutrition training.

Design:

A mixed-methods approach was used to collect and interpret student responses to four interactive tasks facilitated during an in-person workshop. Data were analysed using statistical tests, frequency counting and content analysis.

Setting:

The intervention was co-designed by students (n 5) and an educator over a 4-week period as part of a larger multi-disciplinary study at an Australian university.

Participants:

The workshop engaged nutrition and dietetics students (n 44) enrolled in public health nutrition coursework.

Results:

Students reported an increase in self-perceived knowledge about planetary health as a concept and how they can promote it within their future professional roles. Students’ descriptions of what planetary health means to them were focused on humans’ role in protecting and preserving the ecosystem, the responsible and sustainable use of natural resources and a need to sustain a healthy life for future generations. Students prioritised the values of ‘collaboration’ and ‘respect’ as being critical to guide personal and professional practice to promote planetary health.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrated that incorporating planetary health curricula designed by, and for, university students could be a feasible and effective way to prepare the future public health nutrition workforce to address planetary health challenges.