Project Overview
In 2023, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) launched a project entitled “Empowering the next generation of health care professionals with knowledge, skills, tools, and supports to address infectious diseases related to climate change in Canada” with the aim of enhancing the preparedness of future nurses to address climate-driven infectious diseases. This initiative builds on previous work to develop nursing education guidelines on climate-driven vector-borne diseases (VBDs) and an accompanying electronic resource.
Through this initiative, CASN:
- updated the Guidelines for Undergraduate Nursing Education on Climate-Driven Vector-Borne Diseases (coming soon) to align with current literature on planetary health, climate change, and vector-borne disease;
- revitalized the existing e-resource into on-demand, interactive narrated modules; and
- created five virtual simulations in partnership with the Canadian Alliance of Nurse Educators using Simulation (CAN-Sim).
The guidelines consist of learning outcomes in five domains:
- Public Health Sciences and Planetary Health
- Populations at Risk and Primordial Prevention of VBDs
- Primary and Secondary Prevention of VBDs
- Tertiary and Quaternary Prevention
- Advocacy
The enhanced e-resource aims to support curriculum and course development by nurse educators.
The revised modules and new virtual simulations can be used together to develop nursing knowledge and skills for addressing planetary health, climate change, and climate-related infectious disease among nursing students, nurses looking to gain knowledge in these areas, or other health professionals. Although the primary audience is nursing learners, the simulations and enhanced e- resource serves as accessible, practical learning tools for the broader health workforce.
The guidelines, modules, and simulations integrate a public health lens focused on priority disease risks and on the health and social inequities that shape vulnerability across populations. Content emphasizes health promotion, protection, and prevention, along with approaches that support individuals and communities at risk. These resources reflect current evidence, as well as insights from an advisory committee with expertise in planetary health, community, and public health nursing who work in education, practice, and policy arenas.