Preparing health workers for climate change: the impact of an innovative ‘Plan Health Faire’ course

Introduction

Recent studies have highlighted the need for climate change (CC) training in healthcare. In France, the collaborative training program Plan Health Faire (PHF) was developed to address this need. This study assessed PHF’s impact on health workers’ satisfaction, knowledge, and practices.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among all professionals at the University Hospital of Poitiers (France) who received training in sustainable development in 2025. All eligible participants were included. Two structured questionnaires, based on the Kirkpatrick evaluation model, were administered before and after the training. Statistical analyses were performed to assess participants’ satisfaction and changes in knowledge and practices.

Results

A total of 114 health workers participated in the study, corresponding to a participation rate of 82.6% (114/138). Overall, 99.1% (113/114) of participants reported being satisfied or very satisfied with PHF, and 76.3% (87/114) indicated that the training fully met or exceeded their expectations. Among respondents, 73.7% (84/114) had never previously attended training on climate change. Regarding knowledge acquisition, 99.1% of participants reported gaining new knowledge related to climate change and healthcare. Comparative analysis of responses to knowledge-based questions confirmed a statistically significant increase in knowledge following the training (p < 0.0001). Finally, 95.6% (109/114) of participants indicated that this training would result in changes to their professional practices toward more environmentally sustainable care.

Conclusions

PHF has a significant impact on health workers, particularly in satisfaction, knowledge, and potential to change practices. Plan Health Faire® appears to be a promising approach for training on climate change in healthcare and is being implemented in other health care facilities in France and Europe.

Key messages

• Plan Health Faire is an innovative and collaborative educational program aimed at raising awareness among healthcare stakeholders about the challenges of climate change.

• Plan Health Faire is an effective program for raising awareness among health workers about climate change and is also an interesting lever for integrating climate change into their practice.