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Building Human Resilience The Role of Public Health Preparedness and Response As an Adaptation to Climate Change. Keim, M. E..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.022
Notes
Global climate change will increase the probability of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, drought, wildfire, cyclones, and heavy precipitation that could cause floods and landslides. Such events create significant public health needs that can exceed local capacity to respond, resulting in excess morbidity or mortality and in the declaration of disasters. Human vulnerability to any disaster is a complex phenomenon with social, economic, health, and cultural dimensions. Vulnerability to natural disasters has two sides: the degree of exposure to dangerous hazards (susceptibility) and the capacity to cope with or recover from disaster consequences (resilience). Vulnerability reduction programs reduce susceptibility and increase resilience. Susceptibility to disasters is reduced largely by prevention and mitigation of emergencies. Emergency preparedness and response and recovery activities-including those that address climate change-increase disaster resilience. Because adaptation must occur at the community level, local public health agencies are uniquely placed to build human resilience to climate-related disasters. This article discusses the role of public health in reducing human vulnerability to climate change within the context of select examples for emergency preparedness and response.
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Climate and Vectorborne Diseases. Gage, K. L.; Burkot, T. R.; Eisen, R. J.; Hayes, E. B..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.030
Notes
Climate change could significantly affect vectorborne disease in humans. Temperature, precipitation, humidity, and other climatic factors are known to affect the reproduction, development, behavior, and population dynamics of the arthropod vectors of these diseases. Climate also can affect the development of pathogens in vectors, as well as the population dynamics and ranges of the nonhuman vertebrate reservoirs of many vectorborne diseases. Whether climate changes increase or decrease the incidence of vectorborne diseases in humans will depend not only on the actual climatic conditions but also on local nonclimatic epidemiologic and ecologic factors. Predicting the relative impact of sustained climate change on vectorborne diseases is difficult and will require long-term studies that look not only at the effects of climate change but also at the contributions of other agents of global change such as increased trade and travel, demographic shifts, civil unrest, changes in land use, water availability, and other issues. Adapting to the effects of climate change will require the development of adequate response plans, enhancement of surveillance systems, and development of effective and locally appropriate strategies to control and prevent vectorborne diseases.
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Climate Change, Air Quality, and Human Health. Kinney, P. L..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.025
Notes
Weather and climate play important roles in determining patterns of air quality over multiple scales in time and space, owing to the fact that emissions, transport, dilution, chemical transformation, and eventual deposition of air pollutants all can be influenced by meteorologic variables such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and mixing height. There is growing recognition that development of optimal control strategies for key pollutants like ozone and fine particles now requires assessment of potential future climate conditions and their influence on the attainment of air quality objectives. In addition, other air contaminants of relevance to human health, including smoke from wildfires and airborne pollens and molds, may be influenced by climate change. In this study, the focus is on the ways in which health-relevant measures of air quality, including ozone, particulate matter, and aeroallergens, may be affected by climate variability and change. The small but growing literature focusing on climate impacts on air quality, how these influences may play out in future decades, and the implications for human health is reviewed. Based on the observed and anticipated impacts, adaptation strategies and research needs are discussed.
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Climate Change and Extreme Heat Events. Luber, G.; McGeehin, M..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.021
Notes
The association between climate change and the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events is now well established. General circulation models of climate change predict that heatwaves will become more frequent and intense, especially in the higher latitudes, affecting large metropolitan areas that are not well adapted to them. Exposure to extreme heat is already a significant public health problem and the primary cause of weather-related mortality in the U.S. This article reviews major epidemiologic risk factors associated with mortality from extreme heat exposure and discusses future drivers of heat-related mortality, including a warming climate, the urban heat island effect, and an aging population. In addition, it considers critical areas of an effective public health response including heat response plans, the use of remote sensing and GIS methodologies, and the importance of effective communications strategies.
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Climate Change and Health Strengthening the Evidence Base for Policy. Haines, A..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.003
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Climate Change and Public Health Thinking, Communicating, Acting. Frumkin, H.; McMichael, A. J..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.019
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Climate Change and the Health of the Public Introduction. Frumkin, H.; McMichael, A. J.; Hess, J. J..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.031
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Climate Change and Waterborne Disease Risk in the Great Lakes Region of the US. Patz, J. A.; Vavrus, S. J.; Uejio, C. K.; McLellan, S. L..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.026
Notes
Extremes of the hydrologic cycle will accompany global warming, causing precipitation intensity to increase, particularly in middle and high latitudes. During the twentieth century, the frequency of major storms has already increased, and the total precipitation increase over this time period has primarily come from the greater number of heavy events. The Great Lakes region is projected to experience a rise these extreme precipitation events. For southern Wisconsin, the precipitation rate of the 10 wettest days was Simulated using a suite of seven global climate models from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. For each ranking, the precipitation rate of these very heavy events increases in the future. Overall, the models project that extreme precipitation events will become 10% to 40% stronger in southern Wisconsin, resulting in greater potential for flooding, and for the waterborne diseases that often accompany high discharge into Lake Michigan. Using 6.4 cm (2.5 in) of daily precipitation as the threshold for initiating combined sewer overflow into Lake Michigan, the frequency of these events is expected to rise by 50% to 120% by the end of this century. The combination of future thermal and hydrologic changes may affect the usability of recreational beaches. Chicago beach closures are dependent on the magnitude of recent precipitation (within the past 24 hours), lake temperature, and lake stage. Projected increases in heavy rainfall, warmer lake waters, and lowered lake levels would all be expected to contribute to beach contamination in the future. The Great Lakes serve as a drinking water source for more than 40 million people. Ongoing studies and past events illustrate a strong connection between rain events and the amount of pollutants entering the Great Lakes. Extreme precipitation under global warming projections may overwhelm the combined sewer systems and lead to overflow events that can threaten both human health and recreation in the region.
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Climate Change The Importance of Place. Hess, J. J.; Malilay, J. N.; Parkinson, A. J..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.024
Notes
Climate change-related risks are place-specific and path-dependent. Accordingly, location is an important determinant of hazardous exposure, and certain places will bear more risk than others. This article reviews the major environmental exposures associated with risky places in the U.S., including coastal regions, islands, the desert Southwest, vectorborne and zoonotic disease border regions, cities, and the U.S. Arctic (Alaska), with emphasis on exposures and vulnerable populations of concern. In addition to these hotspots, this study considers the ways in which the concept of place-the sense of human relationship with particular environments-Arill play a key role in motivating, developing, and deploying an effective public health response. In considering the importance of place, we highlight the concepts of community resilience and risk management, key aspects of a robust response to climate change in public health and other sectors.
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Communication and Marketing As Climate Change-Intervention Assets A Public Health Perspective. Maibach, E. W.; Roser-Renouf, C.; Leiserowitz, A..
American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.016
Notes
The understanding that global climate change represents a profound threat to the health and well-being of human and nonhuman species worldwide is growing. This article examines the potential of communication and marketing interventions to influence population behavior in ways consistent with climate change prevention and adaptation objectives. Specifically, using a framework based on an ecologic model of public health, the paper examines: (1) the potential of communication and marketing interventions to influence population behaviors of concern, including support for appropriate public policies; (2) potential target audiences for such programs; and (3) the attributes of effective climate change messages. Communication and marketing interventions appear to have considerable potential to promote important population behavior change objectives, but there is an urgent need for additional translational research to effectively harvest this potential to combat climate change.
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