Interdisciplinary Ecosystems Health Education at the University of Vermont

We face many human health threats related to anthropogenic changes in earth ecosystems.  Ecological health issues require interdisciplinary teams with an understanding of ecological systems, epidemiology, and public health.  Students trained in natural resources have an understanding of ecosystems.  Students trained in allied health fields have an understanding of human physiology.  Unfortunately Educators in these two professions often do not use the same terminology and have not traditionally been trained to work together on Ecological Public Health Issues. There is rarely a crossover between formal medical training and ecological literacy.

 

The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and the School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Vermont offer students from these diverse majors a unique course called The Environment and Human Health.  The course is cross-listed for Natural Resource and Nursing students and is designed to promote an understanding of public health issues as they relate to the environment, development of problem-solving skills, and research designs that will utilize the unique abilities of each professional group.

The course is co-taught by a physician that focuses on human health implications, and a Ph.D. forest health researcher that teaches ecosystem issues.  This type of cross-disciplinary teaching presents unique challenges, but also unique opportunities. The goal is to prepare future professionals to be better prepared to work together as teams on complex issues such as endocrine disruption, global warming and disease spread, epidemiology of diseases related to toxic chemical exposures, and diseases related to other ecosystem changes. Students in the course have gone on to double major in health-and resource management-related fields, and nursing students have proceeded to explore public health careers planning to specialize in areas such as air pollution, cancer control, or family planning.