This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the role of digital health technologies in building climate-resilient health systems. As climate change intensifies as the greatest health threat of the 21st century, health systems must adapt to protect populations from increasing climate-sensitive diseases, extreme weather events, and environmental exposures. This course explores how digital tools—including artificial intelligence, big data analytics, telemedicine, health information systems, and environmental monitoring technologies—can be strategically deployed to anticipate, respond to, and recover from climate-related health shocks. Students will critically examine the opportunities and challenges of digital health for climate adaptation, including data integration, early warning systems, service continuity, workforce capacity building, and community engagement. The course also addresses the ethical dimensions, including the environmental footprint of digital health itself, ensuring that students develop a nuanced understanding of both the potential and limitations of these approaches in diverse global contexts.
Upon completion of this module, the student can:
- Analyze linkages between greenhouse gases (GHGs), climate change, and the global burden of disease (GBD).
- Assess health impacts of climate-sensitive diseases and extreme weather using real-world data (WHO/IHME dashboards).
- Apply digital tools (satellite data, AI, Purple Air Quality network, AQI) for environmental monitoring and health surveillance.
- Design climate-resilient health strategies, including digital health systems and low-carbon healthcare operations.
- Develop risk communication frameworks and policy solutions for climate-health management.
- Critically reflect on equity, ethics, and local applicability of climate-health interventions.