Micro-Seminar: Climate Change and Social Justice: Interprofessional Collaboration PART ONE

Micro-Seminars have two parts. Attendance to both parts is required. Registering for the PART ONE session will automatically enroll you in the PART TWO session on Friday.

Part 1: Thursday, August 22, 2024 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm (PST)
Part 2: Friday, August 23, 2024 from 10:00 – 11:30 am (PST)

Overview and context of the topic: The World Health Organization estimates that Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) “account for between 30-55% of health outcomes” (2024). Vulnerable populations are disproportionately impacted by climate change, presenting both environmental and health equity concerns. Team-based collaborative care that is person/client-centered is necessary for addressing the SDOH that lead to health inequities and disparities among vulnerable populations impacted by climate change.

Expected learning outcomes:
1. Identify Social Determinants of Health that impact environmental justice and health equity among vulnerable populations;
2. Reflect upon knowledge acquired from an experiential learning activity about environmental justice & health equity issues impacting vulnerable populations in urban settings;
3. Understand the importance of interprofessional and transdisciplinary collaborations in addressing social determinants of health and environmental justice & health equity issues impacting vulnerable populations.

Day 1 course plan: The first 90-minute micro-seminar will introduce students to social determinants of health (SDOH) and their relation to climate change. The seminar will explore the health impacts of climate change in detail, including the effects of extreme heat on various diseases and mental health, as well as the impact of extreme weather and climate disasters on traumatic injuries, deaths, and mass trauma. Students will be introduced to the concept of environmental justice and eco racism.

Day 2 activities: In the second 90-minute micro-seminar, students will engage in an experiential learning activity about environmental justice & health equity issues impacting vulnerable populations. We will use multiple modalities to facilitate the learning of students, including powerpoint, video, break-out groups, Jamboard, Word Cloud and interactive discussion to achieve learning objectives.

Target audience: Students interested in: gaining a comprehensive understanding of how climate change acts as a social determinant of health, exploring proactive measures to mitigate its impacts, and collaborative social justice advocacy for and with vulnerable populations.

Lead By:

Professor Dawn Joosten-Hagye

A licensed clinical social worker, Dawn Joosten-Hagye, PhD, LCSW, GC-C is a teaching professor of social work and coordinator of interprofessional and team-based education at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California (USC). She engages in interprofessional education and scholarship at USC, nationally and internationally. She has over 22 years of team-based collaborative practice experience specializing in adults and older adults with chronic, life threatening and co-morbid health, mental health and substance use conditions in community-based, inpatient, outpatient and private practice settings. She is primary co-editor for an IPECP textbook: Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice: International Approaches at the Micro, Meso, and Macro Levels (Joosten-Hagye, D. & Khalili, H., 2022).

Professor Michelle P. Zappas

Michelle Zappas, DNP, FNP-BC is a Clinical Associate Professor and the Program Director of the Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP) Program at the University of Southern California (USC). She has extensive experience in outpatient clinics, having worked with a variety of medical conditions such as infectious diseases, diabetes, women's health, urgent care, chronic disease management, dermatology, and interprofessional collaboration. Michelle is deeply committed to teaching and practicing evidence-based care for medically underserved communities.

Professor Laura Gale

Laura Gale, EdD, LCSW is an associate teaching professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She has been teaching both policy and clinical courses in the MSW program since 2011, and currently serves as the course lead for the Grant Writing and Program Evaluation course and the Policy and Macro Practice in Children Youth and Family Services course. Prior to joining the school, Professor Gale worked for 15 years as a clinician, clinical supervisor, quality assurance officer and agency director at an outpatient child and adolescent mental health clinic in Los Angeles County. In her role as director, she was responsible for the implementation, oversight and evaluation of all agency grants and contracts, as well as the supervision and professional development of the organization's 45 clinical and supervisory staff.

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