Views of South Asian Physicians on Climate Related Health Effects: A Multinational Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: South Asian populations are vulnerable to poor health outcomes associated with climate due to the region’s complex topography, poverty, lack of education, and population density. Physicians, being highly trusted members of society, can help mitigate climate change effects in their countries. Objectives: The present study assessed perceptions of physicians from four South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Pakistan). We hypothesized that physicians from these countries will be aware and knowledgeable about health effects of climate change. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of physicians between March and July 2022. Data of 201 physicians was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn’s post hoc method. Results: Physicians from four South Asian countries were attuned to the health risks associated with climate change. A majority of physicians (86.6%) believed that climate change would make health conditions in their countries more severe or frequent (Bangladesh 83.3%; Bhutan 70%; India 91% and Pakistan 90.8%). The most common health effect related to climate change was illnesses related to reduced outdoor air quality (54.3%). Common barriers to discuss climate change with patients from all four countries were physicians’ lack of knowledge (strongly agree, 13.8%; agree 47.7%) in how to approach the issue with patients, lack of time (strongly agree, 12%; agree, 48%) and their perception that patients were not interested in knowing about climate change (strongly agree, 8.6%; agree, 42.6%). More than half (56.2%) of the physicians reported no training (Bangladesh, 51.7%; Bhutan, 80%; India, 44.6%; Pakistan, 63.1%) and approximately 30% reported less than 20 hours of training (Bangladesh, 28.3%; Bhutan, 15.0%; India, 39.3%; Pakistan, 27.7%) in climate-change-related health effects. Conclusion: While additional large-scale research is needed to understand the trends observed in our pilot study, our findings identify the need to introduce interventions to improve physicians’ knowledge of the health impacts of climate crisis.