ENGAGING THE HEALTH COMMUNITY
Making a Connection
Climate change poses a serious threat to human health. Increased health risks include heat stress, pest and waterborne diseases, air and water pollution, and death and injury from extreme weather events. Children, the poor, and the elderly are the most vulnerable to climate-related health impacts. It is likely, therefore, that many health care professionals will be interested in getting involved in some kind of climate-related effort.
Here are some ideas of ways to connect with your health community.
- Talk with your own doctor to determine his/her interest in the idea of educating his/her patients about the health impacts of climate change and to find out how the League might be helpful.
- Consider contacting your state Department of Public Health and your state Public Health Association to explain your interest and ask about current or planned climate-related educational activities.
- Contact your state and/or local chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Find out what climate-related activities are taking place and whether the League could assist by co-sponsoring or promoting any of these initiatives and programs.
- Contact state and local asthma and pulmonary specialists and the Lung Association in your area to determine their level of knowledge about, and interest in, the health impacts of climate change and find out how the League might be helpful.
- Identify several respected health professionals who can go with you to talk with other medical professionals.
Understanding Your Audience
This is the first generation of medical professionals to have come of age hearing about the human influence on planetary warming, but their level of engagement with climate issues is mixed. Just as in the larger population, there will be a diversity of opinion on the subject that should be taken into consideration. (Review the Communications section of this toolkit for background and ideas.)
Getting Your Audience's Attention
Many health professionals look to their colleagues for credible and up-to-date information about the health threats posed by climate change. Engage with well-respected health professionals and see if they would be willing to speak at a state or regional medical association meeting about the effects of climate change on human health.
It also can help to zero in on the specific climate-related health risks projected for your community and for your part of the country. Two helpful resources:
- Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, which includes a discussion of the potentially harmful health effects from climate change in general and then provides details for each of eight regions in the country. (U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2009)
- Fact sheets and reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzing current and projected impacts (including health impacts) for a number of states and regions of the country.
Here are some sample programs for this audience:
- The American Public Health Association offers a number of programs and resources -- webinars, presentations, and reports -- related to environmental public health, including climate change.
- Physicians for Social Responsibility has produced a 40-slide powerpoint presentation, "Cooking the Earth," that describes how coal contributes to global warming and how that warming threatens human health. Both the slides and a set of accompanying notes can be downloaded from the PSR website.
Making Change Easier
Well-designed response and control programs, together with adequate financial and human public health resources, can help prevent many of the diseases and health problems that would otherwise worsen with climate change. Some cities and states have developed such programs, which can serve as models for others.
Weather advisories, for example, can alert the public to dangerous heat conditions, and public cooling places and other outreach services can help vulnerable populations cope. Urban tree planting can help moderate temperature increases, and air quality alert programs can encourage residents to reduce air pollutant emissions on high ozone days. (See Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States for details.)
EPA's Excessive Heat Events Guidebook is another useful resource, designed to help community officials and others plan for, and respond to, excessive heat events.