scholarly journals Addressing Mental Health in a Changing Climate: Incorporating Mental Health Indicators into Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Hayes ◽  
Blake Poland
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Global Literature ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Vulnerability Assessments ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
The World ◽  
Analytical Review ◽  
Climate Change And Health

A growing number of health authorities around the world are conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments; however, few explore impacts and adaptations related to mental health. We argue for an expanded conceptualization of health that includes both the physiological and psychological aspects of climate change and health. Through a review of the global literature on mental health and climate change, this analytical review explores how mental health can be integrated into climate change and health vulnerability assessments and concludes with recommendations for integrating mental health within climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments.

scholarly journals Health Vulnerabilities and Resilience to Climate Change: An Update of International Progress

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 80-92
Author(s):  
Mohd Arifuzzaman ◽  
M Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Md Sultan Ul Islam ◽  
Md Nezam Uddin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
Climate Change And Health

Despite being one of the most important societal challenges of the 21st century, public engagement with climate change currently remains low worldwide. Mounting evidence from across the behavioral sciences has found that most people regard climate change as a non-urgent and psychologically distant risk—spatially, temporally, and socially-which has led to deferred public decision making about mitigation and adaptation responses. Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associations between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. Health authorities from local to national levels badly seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, they are often not integrated into adaptation decision making, probably because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy-making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper reviews the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed from such projects, and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. The findings derived from the study will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current and future climate change hazards. Health authorities may benefit from additional resources to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health could effectively be translated into needed actions to build health resilience. Ibrahim Card Med J 2019; 9 (1&2): 80-92

scholarly journals Assessing Health Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Change: A Review of International Progress

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Berry ◽  
Paddy Enright ◽  
Joy Shumake-Guillemot ◽  
Elena Villalobos Prats ◽  
Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
Climate Change And Health

Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associations between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. An increasing number of health authorities from local to national levels seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, the results of many studies are not helping to build the global evidence-base of knowledge in this area. They are also often not integrated into adaptation decision making, sometimes because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper examines the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed for such projects, the number of assessments that have been conducted globally and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. Greater capacity building that facilitates assessments from local to national scales will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current climate hazards and future climate change. Health sector officials will benefit from additional resources and partnership opportunities to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health is effectively translated into needed actions to build health resilience.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation in Dominica

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekka Schnitter ◽  
Marielle Verret ◽  
Peter Berry ◽  
Tanya Chung Tiam Fook ◽  
Simon Hales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Climate Change And Health

A climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment was conducted in Dominica, a Caribbean small island developing state located in the Lesser Antilles. The assessment revealed that the country’s population is already experiencing many impacts on health and health systems from climate variability and change. Infectious diseases as well as food and waterborne diseases pose continued threats as climate change may exacerbate the related health risks. Threats to food security were also identified, with particular concern for food production systems. The findings of the assessment included near-term and long-term adaptation options that can inform actions of health sector decision-makers in addressing health vulnerabilities and building resilience to climate change. Key challenges include the need for enhanced financial and human resources to build awareness of key health risks and increase adaptive capacity. Other small island developing states interested in pursuing a vulnerability and adaptation assessment may find this assessment approach, key findings, analysis, and lessons learned useful.

scholarly journals The University of Colorado Graduate Medical Education Fellowship in Climate Change and Health Science Policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s174-s174
Author(s):  
Chelsea Dymond ◽  
Cecilia Sorensen ◽  
Emilie Calvello-Hynes ◽  
Jay Lemery
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Health Science ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
The World ◽  
The University ◽  
Climate Change And Health

Introduction:Climate change is intricately related to human health and impacts acute and chronic diseases leading to increased demands on the health care system.Aim:The University of Colorado Graduate Medical Education (GME) Fellowship in Climate Change and Health Science Policy (CCHSP) aims to train and equip a new generation of clinicians knowledgeable in climate science, proficient in climate health education, and facile with advocacy skills in order to become leaders in health policy.The CCHSP fellowship is funded by the Living Closer Foundation and hosted through the University of Colorado Department of Emergency Medicine. It is a one to two-year program tailored to the fellow’s specific goals with the opportunity to earn an MPH or MA. Clinical work is supported through the UCHealth network. Site placement occurs at partnering organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and fieldwork throughout the world (via Colorado School of Public Health, Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights).The first fellow was recruited in 2017 and has participated in and completed multiple projects: technical contributor to the US Government’s Fourth National Climate Assessment; advocating for women’s health policy in India; authorship of climate change and health resource documents for the World Bank; climate change leadership within SAEM; advocacy work with local and state governments; multiple research publications.Discussion:As climate change continues to impact human health with widespread consequences, we need effective and articulate leaders to affect policy. Although this Fellowship originated in Emergency Medicine, its competencies and structure are replicable for other clinical specialties. Climate change will be one of the core global health challenges for generations. A strong foundation of clinicians who understand its causes and the strategies for adaptation and mitigations are necessary to optimize health outcomes amidst this growing threat.

scholarly journals Assessing climate change and health vulnerability at the local level: Travis County, Texas

Disasters ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 740-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Prudent ◽  
Adele Houghton ◽  
George Luber
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
Climate Change And Health

scholarly journals An Approach to Developing Local Climate Change Environmental Public Health Indicators, Vulnerability Assessments, and Projections of Future Impacts

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele Houghton ◽  
Paul English
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Guidance Document ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Environmental Public Health ◽  
Vulnerability Assessments ◽  
Public Health Indicators ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
The U.S

Environmental public health indicators (EPHIs) are used by local, state, and federal health agencies to track the status of environmental hazards; exposure to those hazards; health effects of exposure; and public health interventions designed to reduce or prevent the hazard, exposure, or resulting health effect. Climate and health EPHIs have been developed at the state, federal, and international levels. However, they are also needed at the local level to track variations in community vulnerability and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance community resilience. This review draws on a guidance document developed by the U.S. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ State Environmental Health Indicators Collaborative climate change working group to present a three-tiered approach to develop local climate change EPHIs. Local climate change EPHIs can assist local health departments (LHDs) in implementing key steps of the 10 essential public health services and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects framework. They also allow LHDs to incorporate climate-related trends into the larger health department planning process and can be used to perform vulnerability assessments which can be leveraged to ensure that interventions designed to address climate change do not exacerbate existing health disparities.

Climate change and health vulnerability in Nepal: A systematic review of the literature since 2010

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Joana Tome ◽  
Holly L. Richmond ◽  
Munshi Rahman ◽  
Dibesh Karmacharya ◽  
Jessica S. Schwind
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
Climate Change And Health
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