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Climate Change Impact on Mental Health

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Activity Dates: 04/19/2023 - 04/19/2026

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Session Time and Location

The live session is complete.

Target Audience

If you are a pharmacist, nurse practitioner, or other health care professional involved in the comprehensive medication management of individuals living with mental health and/or substance use disorders, we invite you to participate in this online course.

Session Summary

There is a growing body of evidence that climate change may negatively impact mental health either directly or by causing pessimism and anxiety in the general population. It is now being reported that 25-50% of people who get exposed to an extreme weather disaster are at risk of adverse mental health effects including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicide. Along with affecting mental health conditions, there is concern that changing conditions such as increased temperature may impact medication therapy in adverse ways with one example being increased risk of lithium toxicity due to dehydration. In addition, climate change is leading to the occurrence of infectious diseases hitherto uncommon in the United States. Mental health and health professionals broadly can play a powerful role in influencing their professional communities, the public, and policymakers on solutions to climate change. Visible leadership, education, awareness, communication, and involvement are key components in motivating engagement and action, and Americans in particular trust health professionals to lead in this way. This program will introduce the impact of climate change on mental health and educate participants on concrete roles the pharmacist may play in supporting patients and their communities to become more climate resilient, with an emphasis on heat-related illness and infectious disease prevention.

Published Research Related to this Session: 

  • Lim C, Van Alphen MU, Freudenreich O.  Becoming vaccine ambassadors: a new role for psychiatrists. Curr Psychiatry 2021;20(8):10-11,17-21,26-28,38.
  • Lim C, MacLaurin S, Freudenreich O. Preparing patients with serious mental illness for extreme HEAT. Curr Psychiatry 2022;21(9):27-28.
  • Lim C, Van Alphen MU, Maclaurin S, Mulligan C, Macri B, Cather C, Freudenreich O. Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination rates among patients with serious mental illness: a pilot intervention study.  Psychiatr Serv (in press).

Course Requirements

To receive ACPE credit for this session, you must:

  • Sign in (or create a FREE account).
  • Register for this course.
  • Review the full content of the activity and reflect upon its teachings.
  • Complete the post-test at the end of the activity no later than the closing activity date.
  • Complete the evaluation at the end of the activity.
  • If necessary, complete the post-test retest no later than the closing activity date.
  • Receive a passing grade (70%).
  • Provide the necessary details in your profile to ensure correct reporting by AAPP to CPE Monitor.

Upon successful completion, ACPE credit is reported within 24 hours to CPE Monitor although transcripts can be retrieved by participants online in their ACPE Transcript.

Faculty Information

Oliver Freudenreich, MD

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Learning Objectives

  1. Recognize mental health disorders which may emerge or be impacted by climate change and crises.
  2. Discuss ways in which medication therapy may be impacted by heat waves in terms of adverse effects, efficacy, and toxicity.
  3. Describe the link between climate change and infectious diseases.
  4. Explain the role of the pharmacist in contributing to facilitating climate resilience and pro-environmental behaviors, particularly for heat-related illnesses and vaccine-preventable infectious diseases.

Continuing Education Credit and Disclosures

Activity Dates: 04/19/2023 - 04/19/2026
ACPE Contact Hours: 1
ACPE Number: 0284-0000-23-042-H99-P (Knowledge)
Nursing Credit Reminder: Note that ACPE credit is accepted for ANCC Certification Renewal and AANPCB advanced practice provider content. For specific questions related to your organization's acceptance of ACPE continuing education units, please contact your organization directly.

ACPEThe American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

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