Climate Change and Human Health Program |
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) |
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is a member of the Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health (IWCGGH). The IWCGGH is an effort to develop a strategic plan for basic and applied research on the human health of effects of climate change for use by federal agencies and institutes with a human and environmental health mission. The aim of this project is to look at all aspects of the health implications of climate change.
|
Tribal Health, research |
National, International |
Link |
Addressing Links Between Climate and Public Health in Alaska Native Villages |
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit |
As emissions of heat-trapping bases accumulate in our atmosphere, Earth's polar regions are warming more quickly than at lower latitudes. The rapid environmental changes that result from this warming can have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of rural Alaskans: unpredictable weather and changes in the seasons have made harvesting food more difficult, hazardous, and stressful. The climate-related challenge faced by Alaska’s tribal health system is to recognize new health stressors and community vulnerabilities, and then find healthy adaptation strategies in an increasingly uncertain future. Since 1997, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) has operated a non-profit, statewide system of health services for more than 143,000 Alaska Native Villages and Native American Tribes. In 2009, ANTHC established the Center for Climate and Health to help people understand climate change impacts on community health and work to address them. To help raise awareness about the connections between climate change and community health, ANTHC uses a variety of communication and education products including ClimeMap, The LEO Network, and an e-journal which provides weekly access to other map tools, updates, assessments, and bulletins.
|
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, Climate Change, Human Health, Community Health, Adaptation Strategies |
Alaska |
Link |
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Center for Climate and Health |
ANTHC |
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Center for Climate and Health performs assessments, develop community-appropriate strategies, and develops resources that describe climate-health connections.
|
Tribal Health, community |
Alaska |
Link |
An Evidence-Based Public Health Approach to Climate Change Adaptation |
Environmental Health Perspectives |
For public health, climate change has gone from a possible concern to what appears to be an actual threat in just over two decades. When the health impacts of climate change were first broached in the health literature, they were referred to as a possible eventuality (Longstreth 1991). Climate change is now recognized by many as a significant public health threat with substantial current health burdens (Åström et al. 2013; McMichael et al. 2004) and additional impacts expected over time both domestically (Ebi et al. 2006b) and abroad (Campbell-Lendrum et al. 2007)."
|
Public Health, climate change, adaptation, planning, mitigation, integration |
National |
Link |
Assessment of the Potential Health Impacts of Climate Change in Alaska |
The State of Alaska Epidemiology |
The document is intended to provide a broad overview of the
potential adverse human health impacts of climate change in Alaska
and to present examples of adaptation strategies for communities to
consider when planning their own response efforts. This document
does not present a new model for climate change in Alaska, and it
does not offer a critique of the NCA predictions for Alaska.
|
Health, climate change, extreme events impacts, food safety, information, mental health, well-being, Native American communties, traditional knowledge, vector borne disease |
Alaska |
Link |
Blueprint; For Addressing Climate Change and Health |
Public Health- Seattle and King County |
"Climate change-influenced conditions and exposures that negatively impact health are expected to increase both in frequency and severity while new conditions and exposures are also expected, such as a vector-borne disease emerging in new areas. The need for public health to address the issues of climate change is more important than ever."
|
public health, climate change, vector-borne disease, air quality, wildfires, flooding, extreme events |
Washington state, King County |
Link |
Center for Disease Control (CDC) Climate and Health Program |
CDC |
The Center for Disease Control’s Climate Change Program leads efforts to prevent and adapt to the anticipated health impacts associated with climate change. The Program seeks to identify populations most vulnerable to these impacts, anticipate future trends, assures that systems are in place to detect and respond to emerging health threats, and takes steps to assure that these health risks can be managed now and in the future. The program has 3 core functions: 1) To translate climate change science to inform states, local health departments and communities; 2) To create decision support tools to build capacity to prepare for climate change; and 3) To serve as a credible leader in planning for the public health impacts of climate change.
|
Tribal Health, education, adaptation, public health |
National |
Link |
Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research |
University of Arizona |
The Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research (CIEHR) utilizes a community-based participatory research approach for all its projects. CIEHR partners with American Indian and Alaska Native communities to build capacity and evaluate the contribution of chemical and other environmental exposures to health inequities. The Center also supports efforts to address these threats by strengthening community resilience, increasing environmental health literacy, disseminating research findings, and informing program and policy development.
|
public health, environmental health, research, health inequity, community resilience, policy development |
Arizona |
Link |
Chemşhúun Pe'ícháachuqeli (When our Hearts are Happy); A Tribal Psychosocial Climate Resilience Framework |
Pala Band of Mission Indians, Tribal Climate Health Project |
"Chemşhúun Pe'ícháachuqeli, Pala’s Tribal Psychosocial Climate Resilience Framework, is designed to help Pala and other communities consider how to safeguard mental and emotional wellbeing when preparing for the impacts of climate change. This report is part of Pala’s National Indian Health Board (NIHB) funded Climate Change Adaptation Plan, which incorporates health and wellbeing strategies."
|
health, resilience, mental health, climate change impacts, framework, adaptation plan |
|
Link |
Climate Change and Health - Training Modules |
World Health Organization |
The training package consists of 17 standalone modules covering a range of topics that will prove very useful to build capacity of public health professionals who are involved in management of public health programmes impacted by climate change. The modules are also designed for ease of use by professionals from other sectors such as the environment, transport, disaster preparedness, etc., enabling them to understand the intersectoral nature of the issue and to address health impacts jointly with other sectors. One or more modules can be used as advocacy material as well as to orient different target audiences such as policymakers.
|
Tribal Health, capacity building, disaster preparedness, training |
National, International |
Link |
Climate Change and Human Health |
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) considers climate change to be one of the top public health challenges of our time. Our mission to protect the health and well-being of people in the United States depends on healthy and sustainable environments.
|
Public Health, climate change, resources, information |
National |
Link |
Climate Change and Human Health |
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control |
"Climate change impacts on human health span the trajectory of time—past, present, and future. The key finding from the Working Group II, Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that health impacts due to climate change have already occurred in the past, are currently occurring and will continue to occur, at least for the foreseeable future, even with immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions"
|
Public Health, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions |
International |
Link |
Climate Change and Human Health; What it means to tribes and how we can adapt |
ITEP, Northern Arizona University |
Throughout the nation, climate-induced changes in local weather conditions and patterns are posing concerns for human health. As the climate changes, experts anticipate a variety of both direct (i.e. more extreme heat events) and indirect (i.e. changes in abundance of disease-carrying insects) impacts to human health. These impacts range from impaired air quality, to the spread of certain disease-causing pathogens. Factsheet details impacts on Food security and traditional diets and suggests air quality policies, climate adaptation guides, and community based initiatives.
|
Tribal Health, community health, climate change, disease, food security |
National |
Link |
Climate Change and Public Health - Training Modules |
nextGenU.org |
This Climate Change and Public Health Certificate course teaches about the effects of climate change on human health (through online didactics), and gives a chance to practice techniques to reduce those effects (with globally-available peers and mentors). All components of this training (like all NextGenU.org trainings) are free, including registration, learning, testing, and a certificate of completion.
|
Public Health, climate change, training, adaptation, |
National |
Link |
Climate Change and the Health of Indigenous Populations |
EPA |
The impacts of climate change are not limited to physical health. By affecting the environment and natural resources of tribal communities, climate change also threatens the cultural identities of Indigenous people. As plants and animals used in traditional practices or sacred ceremonies become less available, tribal culture and ways of life can be greatly affected.
|
Tribal health, TEK, climate change, adaptation, mitigation |
National |
Link |
Climate change and women's health: Impacts and policy directions |
Plos Medicine |
"As noted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) [1], women, especially those in poverty, face higher risks and experience a greater burden of climate change impacts. This is notably true for health impacts, making climate change a risk multiplier for gender-based health disparities. Both men and women are at risk for amplified health impacts. Women have distinct health needs, such as nutritional demands during pregnancy, which places them at risk of suffering from climate-sensitive diseases. Men experience other risks, such as suicide and severe depression in the face of drought [2] and resulting agricultural losses, and may be at higher risk of drowning during severe weather [3]. Compounding women’s health vulnerabilities are cultural constructs, which amplify risk on a regional scale. Globally, a total of 1.3 billion people in low- and middle-income countries live below the poverty line, and 70% are female [4]. Yet while the interactions between poverty, gender-based social discrimination, and climate change threaten to amplify gender-based health disparities, women’s social roles and potential for agency afford opportunities for promoting solutions to sustainability, disaster risk reduction, and solutions to health threats. Ensuring that policies move beyond traditional separations of health, gender, and environment and embrace proactive and gender-based solutions is paramount to protecting women’s health and mobilizing their vast social potential to mitigate, adapt to, and respond to climate threats."
|
climate change, public health, women's health, climate justice, gender inequality |
|
Link |
Climate Change in Kivalina, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Rural Arctic communities are vulnerable to climate change and seek adaptation strategies that will protect health and health infrastructure. This report describes climate change impacts on Kivalina, a small Inupiat Eskimo community located on the coast of the Chukchi Sea. Data sources included the observations of local residents, reports from local and regional government officials and health professionals, and scientific evidence gathered from published sources. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal Health, community health, climate change |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Levelock, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Climate change refers to change over time due to natural variability or as a result of human activity (IPCC, 2008). Alaska is experiencing a wide range of impacts from climate change and communities seek adaptive strategies that encourage wellness and sustainability. This report documents climate change impacts as described by community residents and climate change effects or potential effects as interpreted through the lens of public health. It is the seventh report in a series describing climate change in communities across Alaska, and the third report to focus on the Bristol Bay region. Assessment of climate change related health effects in Levelock, Alaska. As of 2012, there were about 88 residents, mostly Alaska Native people of Alutiiq and Yupik descent. Levelock is situated about 40 miles north from Naknek, 60 miles east of Dillingham and 278 miles southwest of Anchorage. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2014. Download a PDF of the plan by clicking here.
|
Tribal Health, community health, climate change, natural resources |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Noatak, Alaska; Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
This report documents climate change impacts as described by the local people and interpreted through the lens of public health. It is the third report in a series describing climate change in Northwestern Alaska. The first two reports focused on the coastal whaling communities of Point Hope and Kivalina. This is the first to look at an upriver community characterized by a different climate, environment, and cultural practices. It was prepared by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Center for Climate and Health in partnership with the Maniilaq Association, the Northwest Arctic Borough and the Noatak Traditional Council. Funding was provided by the United States Indian Health Service. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal Health, community health, climate change, disease, food security |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Nondalton, Alaska; Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Climate change refers to change over time due to natural variability or as a result of human activity (IPCC, 2008). Alaska is experiencing a wide range of impacts from climate change and communities seek adaptive strategies that encourage wellness and sustainability. This report documents climate change impacts as described by local people and climate change effects or potential effects as interpreted through the lens of public health. It is the seventh report in a series describing climate change across Alaska, and the second report to focus on the Bristol Bay region, the first being in the community of Pilot Point. To download a copy of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal Health, community, climate change, sustainability |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Nuiqsut, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Assessment of climate change related health effects in Nuiqsut, Alaska a traditional Inupiat community located on the West bank of the Colville River, 18 miles south from the inlet to the Beaufort Sea. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2014. To download the PDF of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Tribal Health, Community Health, climate change |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Pilot Point, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Aassessment of climate change related health effects in Pilot Point, Alaska. Pilot Point is mostly Alaska Native People of Alutiiq and Yup'ik Eskimo decent, averaging about 64 to 100 residents. Pilot Point is located on the Northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, on the east shore of Ugashik Bay. 2013, Download a PDF of the plan by clicking here.
|
Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Tribal Health, Community Health |
Alaska, Coastal |
Link |
Climate Change in Point Hope, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Today with the added pressure of climate change, Point Hope continues its struggle with increased urgency; against erosion and against other new emerging challenges to the community, the culture, and to public health. Assessment of climate change related health effects in Point Hope, Alaska. Point Hope is an Inupiat community of approximately 700 residents, located in Northwestern Alaska on the Chukchi Sea. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2010. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal Health, climate change, strategies, adaptation |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Port Heiden, Alaska Strategies for Community Health |
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium |
There are two components to this document. The first component is the scope of described environmental change and its impacts in Port Heiden Summary Alaska. The second component is a list of priorities to be addressed that will help Port Heiden achieve its vision for the future. Each priority area incorporates local knowledge with available climate science and takes the expected future changes in to consideration.
|
health, climate change, climate change impacts, traditional knowledge, climate science |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Selawik, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC |
Assessment of climate change related health effects in Selawik, Alaska. Selawik is an Inupiat community of approximately 829 residents, located on the Selawik River, about four miles north of the Arctic Circle and 70 miles east of Kotzebue. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2012. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Community Health, Tribal Health |
Alaska |
Link |
Climate Change in Wainwright, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health |
ANTHC Center for Climate and Health |
Assessment of climate change related health effects in Wainwright a traditional Inupiat community located on the Chukchi Sea coast. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, June 2014. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.
|
Tribal, Adaptation Plan |
Alaska, Northwest |
Link |
Climate Change is Affecting Our Health. Is There a Cure? |
TEDx Talks |
Public health is being impacted by climate change via many pathways - from alterations in infectious disease transmission to water-source compromise, malnutrition, air pollution, and other factors. This talk includes recent analyses that show how mitigating global warming provides extensive health opportunities, as well as major savings in healthcare costs. Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH, is Professor & John P. Holton Chair in Health and the Environment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also directs the Global Health Institute.
|
Public Health, infectious disease transmissions, water, malnutrition, air pollution, mitigation, healthcare costs |
|
Link |
Climate Change Webinars |
American Public Health Association |
Listen in on the climate and health webinars, including those that are part of the Year of Climate Change and Health and our four-part series with ecoAmerica on how Climate Changes Health. These webinars outline how and why our health is being affected by climate change. They also shed light on what is being done to adapt to the changes and challenges that go along with climate change.
|
Public Health, community health, climate change, adaptation |
National |
Link |
Climate Change, Health, and Equity: A Guide for Local Health Departments |
American Public Health Association |
Local public health departments (LHDs) across the United States are working proactively to address health inequities, an endeavor that requires intentional change in public health practice. While the services that public health provides to individuals in communities remain vitally important, local health departments are broadening their scope to support systems change across the many sectors that shape community environments (such as transportation and land use, agriculture and food, and criminal justice systems) and the economic, physical, and social conditions in which we live, work, learn, and play. LHDs are also beginning to address the historical and structural determinants of health (such as racism, power, and disenfranchisement) that have led to and reinforce persistent inequities. Now, public health needs to apply this expanded scope to climate change. Our actions now will determine the magnitude of future impacts, how quickly they occur, and the extent to which our communities can thrive in the face of climate change.
|
climate change impacts, public health, equality, community health, transportation, land use, agriculture |
National |
Link |
Climate Change, Health, and Equity: Opportunities for Action |
Center for Climate Change & Health |
"Climate change and health inequities are the greatest global health threats of the 21st
century.3,4 In this report, we explore the many ways in which climate change, health,
and equity are connected. With input from more than a hundred public health
professionals and community health, equity, and environmental justice advocates and
support from The Kresge Foundation, we developed a conceptual framework to help
us see how these issues are linked, and to identify opportunities and recommendations
for action."
|
Public Health, community health, climate change, equity, adaptation |
National |
Link |