Competencies and learning outcomes for healthcare professionals in climate change and sustainability: A protocol for a scoping review

Rationale: The planetary crisis is a serious threat to human health. Healthcare professionals need to be trained to adapt to and mitigate against this crisis. Competencies, curricular frameworks and learning outcomes relating to climate change and sustainability (CC&S) have been proposed for healthcare professionals. A synthesis of these competencies, learning outcomes and frameworks is necessary to identify commonalities and differences, understand the process of their development and highlight areas for future development. Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and synthesise the evidence on competencies, curricular frameworks and learning outcomes for healthcare professionals in climate change and sustainability. Inclusion criteria: Sources relating to healthcare professionals and healthcare students, describing competencies, curricular frameworks and learning outcomes in CC&S, will be included. Sources in all healthcare contexts will be included. Sources in the English language, published from 2014 to June 2024 will be considered for inclusion. Methods: The review will be conducted in line with the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for scoping reviews. The following electronic databases will be searched: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, British Education Index, Australian Education Index, Scopus and ERIC. A search of the grey literature will also be conducted. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles and abstracts and full texts for eligibility. Data extraction will be conducted independently by two reviewers. A narrative summary and tables will be presented. Key stakeholders will be consulted throughout the review. Discussion: This review will summarise the range of competencies, curricular frameworks and learning outcomes proposed internationally for various healthcare professionals. The findings will be used to inform core competencies for all healthcare professions in CC&S, in addition to highlighting gaps in the literature and areas for future development. The findings will be disseminated at conferences and in a peer-reviewed publication. Registration: This protocol was registered on 31 ^st July 2024 on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/vnx2g).