# A mixed methods evaluation of an online climate change and health certificate program for working professionals

## TL;DR

This study evaluates an online climate change and health certificate program for professionals, finding it highly recommended and effective in providing valuable education and networking opportunities.

## Contribution

The study provides a mixed-methods evaluation of an online certificate program, highlighting its strengths and areas for improvement in climate change and health education.

## Key findings

- The program had a 90% completion rate and 98.6% of participants would recommend it.
- Participants valued the curriculum, peer learning, and call to action, but noted irrelevant content and structural challenges.
- The study emphasizes the importance of CCH education for a diverse professional workforce.

## Abstract

Climate change is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century, and a diverse cadre of professionals are increasingly pursuing opportunities to learn about this issue. Our goal was to evaluate an online climate change and health (CCH) certificate program for working professionals as a case study.

We utilized structured and free-text elements from course and overall program evaluations across seven cohorts of participants from 2018 to 2022 for a mixed-methods assessment of the program.

A total of 579 enrollees’ data were analyzed. The program completion rate was 90.0% and participants were diverse in their professional and geographic representation, but disproportionately from North America (82.4%). The program was rated favorably; i.e., 98.6% of participants would recommend the program to others. Qualitative analysis identified themes that were grouped as program strengths and opportunities for improvement. Strengths included (1) valuable curriculum, (2) peer-to-peer learning, and (3) a call to action. Opportunities for improvement included: (1) irrelevant course content, (2) challenges with course structure, and (3) insufficient opportunities for networking.

The evaluations demonstrate the overall importance of educational offerings in CCH. Our case study demonstrated that working professionals in public health, allied health professions, and non-health professions express desire, benefit, and appreciation for educational opportunities on this important intersection. They especially valued strong, relevant course content, professional networking and peer-to-peer learning, and acquisition of effective skills for use in their work. We have used lessons learned from this case study to improve our program and encourage others to use them to improve their programs or to develop new ones. A workforce that is highly educated on CCH issues is essential to confront the existential public health challenge of climate change.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-23477-7.