Climate & Health
Grand Rounds Toolkit
The Climate & Health Grand Rounds Toolkit equips health professionals to integrate climate change in the classic case-based structure of grand rounds. This format allows presenters to teach prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical conditions, including those related to environmental health.
Through grand rounds, health professionals can also educate on the health co-benefits of climate solutions, including their necessity to achieve greater health equity and environmental justice.
Why is this important
As the greatest health threat – and opportunity – of our time, climate change will continue to impact all aspects of health. Health professionals must not only understand these impacts, but also engage with and promote the solutions.
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Effective grand rounds will center around what YOU are most passionate about. This Toolkit provides combines structure and flexibility so you are equipped to bring climate change to your colleagues while focusing on your area of expertise.
This resource also provides details on solutions, which are essential to inspiring hope in the face of our changing climate. Start with the sample outline below to craft your Climate & Health Grand Rounds!
Start With What You Know
Sample Outline
10 min
Opening
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Speaker introductions
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Overview of objectives and agenda
10 min
Climate & Health Impacts
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Individuals and patients: Extreme heat, air quality, weather-related injury, mental health
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Health equity and social determinants of health
10-15 min
Case Examples
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Individuals and patients
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Health facilities & Communities
5-10 min
Actions & Solutions
5-10 min
Advocacy
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Increasing resilience of healthcare facilities; focusing on frontline community clinics
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Greater health equity and climate justice
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Highlight a local group already doing this work!
5-10 min
Q&A
Be sure to leave time at the end for questions!
Case Examples
Engage your audience and drive your points home by presenting examples of individuals, organizations, and communities at the intersection of climate and health. Start the examples below, tailor them as needed, or highlight cases from your own practice and experience. Download the full toolkit for reference.
Communication & Engagement
ecoAmerica is a non-partisan non-profit dedicated to climate engagement and advocacy. The Climate for Health Ambassador Training equips health professionals with the tools to talk to colleagues, neighbors, and decision-makers on climate solutions. Take the Climate for Health Ambassador training to earn 3 free CE credits and use your voice as a health professional to act on climate.
The ClimateRx campaign distributes free materials for health professionals to quickly and easily communicate climate issues with patients and colleagues. Join this network of over 15,000 health professionals!
The Climate Ambassador Training & ClimateRx programs equip health professionals to speak, act, and
engage confidently and effectively on climate and health.
Extreme Heat
Example: A 90 year-old patient with congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and chronic kidney disease presents with complaints of feeling tired and faint during a day when the heat index is 107°F.
Certain individuals (outdoor workers, older adults, children, and pregnant people) are more vulnerable to extreme heat. Discuss tools to screen for risk factors and strategies for preventing heat-related illnesses.
Additional Resources to Build Out Your Case:
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Heat Action Plans (Americares)
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Extreme Heat Resource Hub (APHA)
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Heat Safety Tool (DOL, OSHA, CDC, and NIOSH)
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CHILL'D out Tool (CDC)
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Climate + Health – Extreme Heat (ClimateRx)
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Smart Surfaces
The American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Smart Surfaces Coalition have partnered for the Cities for Smart Surfaces Project. This groundbreaking project brings together six APHA state affiliate groups from across the U.S. to explore the potential of smart surfaces to improve public health in urban areas. Smart surfaces include reflective roofs and pavements, trees, rain gardens, low and zero-carbon concrete, and more to help cities withstand the health effects of climate change. These technologies help build climate resilience and improve public health by mitigating extreme heat, preventing flooding, improving air quality, and boosting mental well-being.
APHA affiliates improved public health in urban environments through Smart Surfaces to protect public health and act as a long-term climate solution.
Air Quality
Example: A 50-year old patient presents to the health clinic with worsening shortness of breath and lower extremity and abdominal swelling.
Additional Resources to Build Out Your Case:
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Air Quality Index Tracker (AirNow)
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State of the Air – Health Impact of AIr Pollution (American Lung Association
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Climate + Health – Poor Air Quality (ClimateRx)
Vulnerable populations, such as children, are particularly susceptible to negative health impacts from air pollution and allergens. Learn how to communicate these risks to people and families.
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CHARGE Partnership
The CHARGE Partnership is a nationwide resilient and clean energy program for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). As a partnership between the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), Capital Link, and Collective Energy, this program helps ensure health centers have power during grid outages. CHARGE offers education, assessment, design, installation, and financing options to make clean and reliable energy accessible and affordable for FQHCs. Access to reliable power allows health centers to remain open to provide care for patients and to serve as community resilience hubs. CHARGE also works to lower and/or stabilize electricity bills, reduce the carbon footprint of FQHCs, and allow health centers to lead in the effort to fight climate change.
This resilient and clean energy program provides energy resilience for health centers during power outages to support our most vulnerable communities.
Mental Health
Example: A young adult sees their primary care provider and states they are "not feeling well." Additional questions reveal this is likely due to stress and anxiety about climate change and the state of the environment.
Additional Resources to Build Out Your Case:
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Climate Change and Mental Health Connections (American Psychiatric Association
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Climate Emotions Wheel (Climate Mental Health Network)
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Why mental health is a priority for action on climate change (World Health Organization)
- Mental Health and Our Changing Climate (ecoAmerica)
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Children's Mental Health Report (ecoAmerica)
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Climate + Health – Mental Health (ClimateRx)
Climate change can cause a breadth of mental health impacts, including trauma and longer-term anxiety and depression. Learn to mitigate mental health impacts and how climate action can alleviate eco-anxiety.
Share Your Experience
Thank you for using the Climate & Health Grand Rounds Toolkit!
Share your experience using the Toolkit to help others to see how it’s done. Feel free to include pictures or videos of your presentation. Please also let us know how else we can support you and any other feedback you may have on the Toolkit!
We need more health professionals to be visible climate leader. Thank you for helping to build this movement.