Introduction:

Climate change is an impending danger to human and global environmental health.

Objective:

To assess the effectiveness of an educational program to modify knowledge about climate change in medical students.

Methods:

A quasiexperimental study of educational intervention was conducted. The study universe was made up of 52 medical students from Policlínico Docente Manuel González Díaz, in Bahía Honda Municipality, Artemisa province, in the period from January to December 2022. The sample consisted of 37 medical students from third to fifth academic years who gave their consent to participate in the research. An initial questionnaire was applied to assess knowledge on the subject, their learning needs were identified and, subsequently, the educational program was designed to be applied in six weeks. Finally, its impact was assessed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data tabulation.

Results:

Most of the students, before the intervention, had little knowledge about the subject, had a restricted concept of climate change, its consequences and who will be most impacted by it. Some were unaware of the national policies and strategic plans currently being implemented in the country. Although most of the respondents had a sense of concern and importance with respect to this issue, they showed lack of knowledge regarding the actions that they somehow did to care for the environment.

Conclusions:

The implemented educational program was successful in correcting the deficiencies. Once again, the significance of the educational work to promote health became evident.