Climate-sensitive health counselling in Germany: a cross-sectional study about previous participation and preferences in the general public

doi:10.1186/s12889-024-18998-6

. 2024 Jun 6;24(1):1519.

doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18998-6.

Climate-sensitive health counselling in Germany: a cross-sectional study about previous participation and preferences in the general public

Nicola Krippl¹, Nikolaus C S Mezger², Ina Danquah^{3

4}, Jessica Nieder³, Silvan Griesel³, Jan Schildmann⁵, Rafael Mikolajczyk⁶, Eva J Kantelhardt^#², Alina Herrmann^#^{3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. krippl@stud.uni-heidelberg.de.
² Global and Planetary Health Working Group, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical Faculty, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 8, 06097, Halle (Saale), Germany.
³ Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁴ Hertz-Chair Innovation for Planetary Health, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, 53113, Bonn, Germany.
⁵ Institute for History and Ethics in Medicine, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical Faculty, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 20, 06112, Halle (Saale), Germany.
⁶ Institute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics and Informatics, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical Faculty of the Martin, Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 8, 06097, Halle (Saale), Germany.
⁷ Institute of General Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Medical Faculty Cologne University, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38844875
PMCID: PMC11155184
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18998-6

Climate-sensitive health counselling in Germany: a cross-sectional study about previous participation and preferences in the general public

Nicola Krippl et al. BMC Public Health. 2024.

. 2024 Jun 6;24(1):1519.

doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18998-6.

Authors

Nicola Krippl¹, Nikolaus C S Mezger², Ina Danquah^{3

4}, Jessica Nieder³, Silvan Griesel³, Jan Schildmann⁵, Rafael Mikolajczyk⁶, Eva J Kantelhardt^#², Alina Herrmann^#^{3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. krippl@stud.uni-heidelberg.de.
² Global and Planetary Health Working Group, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical Faculty, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 8, 06097, Halle (Saale), Germany.
³ Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁴ Hertz-Chair Innovation for Planetary Health, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, 53113, Bonn, Germany.
⁵ Institute for History and Ethics in Medicine, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical Faculty, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 20, 06112, Halle (Saale), Germany.
⁶ Institute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics and Informatics, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical Faculty of the Martin, Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 8, 06097, Halle (Saale), Germany.
⁷ Institute of General Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Medical Faculty Cologne University, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38844875
PMCID: PMC11155184
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18998-6

Abstract

Background: In response to climate change (CC), medicine needs to consider new aspects in health counselling of patients. Such climate-sensitive health counselling (CSHC) may include counselling patients on preventing and coping with climate-sensitive diseases or on leading healthy and climate-friendly lifestyles. This study aimed to identify previous participation in and preferences for CSHC as well as associated sociodemographic and attitudinal factors among the general public in Germany.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a population-based online panel in five German federal states (04-06/2022). We performed descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analysis to assess prior participation in CSHC and content preferences regarding CSHC, as well as associations between sociodemographic variables and general preference for CSHC.

Results: Among 1491 participants (response rate 47.1%), 8.7% explicitly reported having participated in CSHC, while 39.9% had discussed at least one CSHC-related topic with physicians. In the studied sample, 46.7% of participants would like CSHC to be part of the consultation with their physician, while 33.9% rejected this idea. Participants aged 21 to 40 years (versus 51 to 60), individuals alarmed about CC (versus concerned/cautious/disengaged/doubtful/dismissive), and those politically oriented to the left (vs. centre or right) showed greater preference for CSHC in the multivariable regression model. Most participants wanted to talk about links to their personal health (65.1%) as opposed to links to the health of all people (33.2%).

Conclusions: Almost half of the participants in this sample would like to receive CSHC, especially those who are younger, more alarmed about CC and more politically oriented to the left. More research and training on patient-centred implementation of CSHC is needed.

Keywords: Climate change; Health promotion; Patient counselling; Patient participation; Patient preferences; Physician-patient interaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Nicola Krippl, Nikolaus C.S. Mezger, Silvan Griesel and Alina Herrmann are members of the German Climate Change and Health Alliance (KLUG e.V.). Alina Herrmann is spokesperson of the section Climate Change and Health of the German Society for General Practice and Family Medicine (DEGAM). Nicola Krippl, Nikolaus C.S. Mezger, Silvan Griesel and Alina Herrmann do not receive payments from these organizations. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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[1] Steffen W, Richardson K, Rockström J, Cornell SE, Fetzer I, Bennett EM, et al. Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science. 2015;347(6223):1259855. doi: 10.1126/science.1259855. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Steffen W, Richardson K, Rockström J, Cornell SE, Fetzer I, Bennett EM, et al. Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science. 2015;347(6223):1259855. doi: 10.1126/science.1259855. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Richardson K, Steffen W, Lucht W, Bendtsen J, Cornell SE, Donges JF, et al. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Sci Adv. 2023;9(37):eadh2458. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2458. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Richardson K, Steffen W, Lucht W, Bendtsen J, Cornell SE, Donges JF, et al. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Sci Adv. 2023;9(37):eadh2458. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2458. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Whitmee S, Haines A, Beyrer C, Boltz F, Capon AG, de Souza Dias BF, et al. Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on planetary health. Lancet. 2015;386(10007):1973–2028. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60901-1. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Whitmee S, Haines A, Beyrer C, Boltz F, Capon AG, de Souza Dias BF, et al. Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on planetary health. Lancet. 2015;386(10007):1973–2028. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60901-1. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Haines A, Ebi K. The Imperative for Climate Action To Protect Health. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(3):263–73. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1807873. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Haines A, Ebi K. The Imperative for Climate Action To Protect Health. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(3):263–73. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1807873. - DOI - PubMed

[9] Romanello M, McGushin A, Di Napoli C, Drummond P, Hughes N, Jamart L, et al. The 2021 report of the Lancet countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future. Lancet. 2021;398(10311):1619–62. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01787-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Romanello M, McGushin A, Di Napoli C, Drummond P, Hughes N, Jamart L, et al. The 2021 report of the Lancet countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future. Lancet. 2021;398(10311):1619–62. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01787-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Climate-sensitive health counselling in Germany: a cross-sectional study about previous participation and preferences in the general public

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Climate-sensitive health counselling in Germany: a cross-sectional study about previous participation and preferences in the general public

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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