The Future of Food to Tackle Climate and Health – Reflections from COP26

A shift in how we obtain protein from our diets, away from intensive farming and fishing, towards cleaner sources, be they animal or plant-based, will form an essential part of the solution to achieving the pledges formalised following COP26. This can be achieved through many different approaches including reduction, substitution, reducing the frequency of consumption, blending into hybrid products, and without the necessity of a complete eschewal of animal-based products. The new paradigm of ‘planetary health’, which focuses on the interdependence of human health, animal health and environmental health, will greatly facilitate meeting the ambitious and near-term targets set. This commentary discusses these issues in depth, with a focus on solutions to promote both planetary and human health in unison.

Co-learning during the co-creation of a dengue early warning system for the health sector in Barbados

Over the past decade, the Caribbean region has been challenged by compound climate and health hazards, including tropical storms, extreme heat and droughts and overlapping epidemics of mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Early warning systems (EWS) are a key climate change adaptation strategy for the health sector. An EWS can integrate climate information in forecasting models to predict the risk of disease outbreaks several weeks or months in advance. In this article, we share our experiences of co-learning during the process of co-creating a dengue EWS for the health sector in Barbados, and we discuss barriers to implementation as well as key opportunities. This process has involved bringing together health and climate practitioners with transdisciplinary researchers to jointly identify needs and priorities, assess available data, co-create an early warning tool, gather feedback via national and regional consultations and conduct trainings. Implementation is ongoing and our team continues to be committed to a long-term process of collaboration. Developing strong partnerships, particularly between the climate and health sectors in Barbados, has been a critical part of the research and development. In many countries, the national climate and health sectors have not worked together in a sustained or formal manner. This collaborative process has purposefully pushed us out of our comfort zone, challenging us to venture beyond our institutional and disciplinary silos. Through the co-creation of the EWS, we anticipate that the Barbados health system will be better able to mainstream climate information into decision-making processes using tailored tools, such as epidemic forecast reports, risk maps and climate-health bulletins, ultimately increasing the resilience of the health system.

Barriers and Enablers for Integrating Public Health Cobenefits in Urban Climate Policy

Urban climate policy offers a significant opportunity to promote improved public health. The evidence around climate and health cobenefits is growing but has yet to translate into widespread integrated policies. This article presents two systematic reviews: first, looking at quantified cobenefits of urban climate policies, where transportation, land use, and buildings emerge as the most studied sectors; and second, looking at review papers exploring the barriers and enablers to integrating these health cobenefits into urban policies. The latter reveals wide agreement concerning the need to improve the evidence base for cobenefits and consensus about the need for greater political will and leadership on this issue. Systems thinking may offer a way forward to help embrace complexity and integrate health cobenefits into decision making. Knowledge coproduction to bring stakeholders together and advance policy-relevant research for urban health will also be required. Action is needed to bring these two important policy agendas together. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 43 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Integrated Urban Mobility for Our Health and the Climate: Recommended Approaches from an Interdisciplinary Consortium

Background: The purpose of this paper is to suggest an approach to aid with the creation of an interdisciplinary team and evidence-informed solutions addressing the urban mobility challenges facing many communities. Methods: We created a local Urban Mobility Consortium with experts from different disciplines to discuss the development of healthy, accessible communities, electrification, ride-sharing, and overarching issues related to urban mobility. A workshop and survey data collected during COVID-19 are presented in this paper. Results: Several evidence-informed recommendations are provided. Broadly, these were: (1) support the creation and development of accessible and safe active-transportation infrastructure; (2) incentivize and prioritize the use of active, public, and shared transportation over use of personal vehicles; (3) ensure connectivity of active transportation infrastructure with major destinations and public transportation options; (4) work towards electrification of personal and public transportation; and (5) work across siloes to improve integrated mobility to impact climate and health related outcomes, and enhance overall efficiency. Conclusions: An integrated approach is needed to improve mobility, access, and environmental impact. This needs to be carried out in the local context and requires government and non-governmental leadership.

Understanding Workplace Interpersonal Mistreatment in the NZ Military: Structure, Antecedents and Consquences

<p>This thesis describes the development and testing of a theoretically plausible model of antecedents and consequences of workplace interpersonal mistreatment using archival data (n = 10697) of civilian and military employees. The sample was split into calibration and validation samples. Principle component and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a complex structure for the workplace interpersonal mistreatment construct across three types of behaviour, and across observed and experienced mistreatment. Furthermore, a total of 17 robust factors were identified in the survey, of which a subset of eight factors was used for developing the model of antecedents and consequences of WIM. The model was tested and refined using regression and structural equation modelling in two samples and validated in a third sample. Individual (seniority), workplace (directive leadership, equity and diversity climate, and health and safety climate) and organisational features (aligned-cohesive culture, service culture) all predict mistreatment. Outcomes of mistreatment include stress, organisational commitment, job satisfaction and leaving intentions. The model showed good fit in the validation sample and is therefore likely to generalise to the population. Implications for organisations and recommendations for future research are discussed.</p>

Understanding Workplace Interpersonal Mistreatment in the NZ Military: Structure, Antecedents and Consquences

<p>This thesis describes the development and testing of a theoretically plausible model of antecedents and consequences of workplace interpersonal mistreatment using archival data (n = 10697) of civilian and military employees. The sample was split into calibration and validation samples. Principle component and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a complex structure for the workplace interpersonal mistreatment construct across three types of behaviour, and across observed and experienced mistreatment. Furthermore, a total of 17 robust factors were identified in the survey, of which a subset of eight factors was used for developing the model of antecedents and consequences of WIM. The model was tested and refined using regression and structural equation modelling in two samples and validated in a third sample. Individual (seniority), workplace (directive leadership, equity and diversity climate, and health and safety climate) and organisational features (aligned-cohesive culture, service culture) all predict mistreatment. Outcomes of mistreatment include stress, organisational commitment, job satisfaction and leaving intentions. The model showed good fit in the validation sample and is therefore likely to generalise to the population. Implications for organisations and recommendations for future research are discussed.</p>