EXSPH 2215 - Climate Change and Health: Advocacy and Activism

This course focuses on the skills and strategies needed to turn climate–health evidence into meaningful action. While climate change poses serious risks to human health, progress depends on effective advocacy, clear communication, and collective engagement. This course explores how health professionals, researchers, and communities can influence public understanding, policy, and decision-making by framing climate change as a critical health issue.

Learners will examine advocacy approaches across individual, community, and policy levels, including countering misinformation, engaging decision-makers, motivating behavioural change, and mobilizing grassroots efforts. Through expert insights and applied activities, the course emphasizes ethical, inclusive, and justice-centred advocacy, equipping learners with practical tools to advance equitable climate–health action in professional and civic contexts.

This course is designed for public health practitioners, healthcare providers, environmental and municipal planners, educators, policy professionals across sectors, and others who want to strengthen their advocacy skills and advance climate–health priorities within their organizations and communities.

By the end the course, students will be able to:

• 🗸 Explain the role of advocacy and activism in addressing climate-related health risks.
• 🗸 Frame climate change as a public health issue to inform and influence diverse audiences.
• 🗸 Identify and counter common forms of climate and health misinformation in ways that reduce polarization.
• 🗸 Explain how behavioural change occurs and apply key psychological theories and evidence to climate-health contexts.
• 🗸 Apply ethical, equity-focused approaches to climate–health advocacy and engagement.
• 🗸 Analyze pathways for influencing policy and decision-making across different levels of governance.
• 🗸 Develop practical advocacy strategies using communication, stakeholder engagement, and community organizing tools.

A digital badge will be issued upon course completion. After the grade is posted, learners will receive an email from MyCreds with instructions on how to access their badge.