Views of Health Professionals About Climate and Health in Sierra Leone: A Cross-Sectional Study

Climate change presents one of the biggest global threats to society, while the impact of its manifestations on human health has been poorly characterized and quantified, especially in middle- and low-income countries. The perceptual views of health professionals about the climate and health nexus are critical for the effective implementation of climate policies. The Sierra Leone health professionals are no exception to this, and no such data exist for their country. To this extent, we distributed a cross-sectional survey to understand the perceptual views and beliefs of health professionals in Sierra Leone about the climate and health nexus. A validated international questionnaire on the topic was electronically administered to 265 participants. A descriptive analysis of the survey responses was conducted. Results showed that almost all of the respondents (97%) felt that climate change is an important issue; more than half (68%) of them were very worried about climate change, and 28% were somewhat worried. About half of respondents believed that human activities mostly caused climate change, while 40% of health professionals felt this was equally caused by human activities and natural changes in the environment. The need to engage health professionals with the public and policymakers to bring the health effects of climate change to their attention was particularly highlighted; however, most respondents (81%) stated that numerous barriers impede them from doing so. The most widely reported barriers and needs were the need for training to communicate effectively about climate change and health (96%) and guidance on creating sustainable workplaces (94%), followed by the need for lifelong training and education programs on climate and health, and the lack of time (73%). These survey findings would be valuable to policymakers in Sierra Leone and the broader African regions towards mitigating and adapting to climate change threats to human health.