What do Final Year Medical Students in Germany know and think about Climate Change? – The ClimAttitude Study

Figures & data

Table 1. FYMS´s characteristics (n = 65)

		n (%)
Sex	Male	45 (69)
	Female	20 (31)
Age in years
Median (IQR)	26 (25–28)
Age distribution	23–25	32 (49)
	26–28	20 (31)
	29–31	7 (11)
	32–34	4 (6)
	35 – 36	2 (3)
Number of completed semesters	10–12	40 (63)
	13–15	22 (34)
	16–18	2 (3)
Current clinical rotation (out of three)	1^st rotation	43 (66)
	2^nd rotation	9 (14)
	3^rd rotation	13 (20)
Specialty in the current rotation	Internal Medicine	38 (59)
	Surgery	21 (32)
	Neurology	6 (9)
Career aspirations	Physician	62 (95)
	Researcher (fulltime)	3 (5)
Marital status	Married	2 (3)
	Single/extra-marital cohabitation	62 (95)
	Other	1 (2)
Religion	Protestant	18 (28)
	Roman-Catholic	25 (38)
	Islam	4 (6)
	Orthodox	3 (5)
	No religion	15 (23)
Country of birth	Germany	50 (77)
	Abroad (Europe)	6 (9)
	Abroad (outside Europe)	9 (14)
Country of high school graduation	Germany	52 (80)
	Abroad (Europe)	5 (8)
	Abroad (outside Europe)	8 (12)
Activities before medical school (multiple selections possible)	Started apprenticeship	4 (6)
	Finished apprenticeship	7 (11)
	Started other university education	10 (15)
	Finished other university education	9 (14)
	Civil service/ Voluntary Year of Social Service	8 (12)
	Military service	3 (5)
	Not applicable	35 (54)

Figure 1. Single item mean scores as well as mean values of the three question topics assessed by FYMS (n = 65)

Table 2. Rotated factor loadings for the climate questionnaire (n = 65)

	Mean	1	2	3
Expected consequences 1.) I expect that the consequences of climate change will directly damage people’s health.	80.4	−0.1	0.9	0.1
2.) I expect that the consequences of climate change will directly harm the health of the patients…	69.4	0.0	0.7	−0.1
3.) I expect the consequences of climate change to lead to an increase in the number of…	70.5	0.1	0.7	0.0
4.) I expect the consequences of climate change to affect human health by changing the quality…	82.2	0.0	0.9	0.0
Individual responsibility 1.) The rise in temperature is almost entirely due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions.	72.3	−0.1	−0.0	0.5
2.) A party’s ecopolitical program influences my decision whether to vote for a party…	74.6	0.1	0.1	0.7
3.) I try to avoid plastic waste because of climate change.	78.3	0.1	0.0	0.7
Professional responsibility 1.) As a physician, I have a high degree of social responsibility with regard to climate change…	46.4	0.7	0.2	−0.2
2.) As a physician, I function as a social role model with regard to climate change.	56.7	0.8	0.1	−0.0
3.) As a physician, I have a social educational role with regard to climate change.	40.9	0.8	−0.1	0.1
4.) As a physician, I have an informational role for my patients with regard to climate change.	38.2	0.8	−0.1	0.1
5.) As a physician, I function as a role model for my patients with regard to climate change.	53.8	0.7	0.1	0.0
Data are single item mean scores and item loadings to the 3 factors (1 to 3) with eigenvalues greater than 1.

Figure 2. Model for the emergence of professional responsibility