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Challenges and Opportunities for Advancing Work on Climate Change and Public Health

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  • Solange Gould

    (School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 50 University Hall #7360, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Linda Rudolph

    (Center for Climate Change and Health, Public Health Institute, 555 12th St. 10th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607, USA)

Abstract

Climate change poses a major threat to public health. Strategies that address climate change have considerable potential to benefit health and decrease health inequities, yet public health engagement at the intersection of public health, equity, and climate change has been limited. This research seeks to understand the barriers to and opportunities for advancing work at this nexus. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews ( N = 113) with public health and climate change professionals and thematic analysis. Barriers to public health engagement in addressing climate change include individual perceptions that climate change is not urgent or solvable and insufficient understanding of climate change’s health impacts and programmatic connections. Institutional barriers include a lack of public health capacity, authority, and leadership; a narrow framework for public health practice that limits work on the root causes of climate change and health; and compartmentalization within and across sectors. Opportunities include integrating climate change into current public health practice; providing inter-sectoral support for climate solutions with health co-benefits; and using a health frame to engage and mobilize communities. Efforts to increase public health sector engagement should focus on education and communications, building leadership and funding, and increasing work on the shared root causes of climate change and health inequities.

Suggested Citation

  • Solange Gould & Linda Rudolph, 2015. "Challenges and Opportunities for Advancing Work on Climate Change and Public Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-24, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:12:p:15010-15672:d:60286
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frumkin, H. & Hess, J. & Luber, G. & Malilay, J. & McGeehin, M., 2008. "Climate change: The public health response," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(3), pages 435-445.
    2. Anil Markandaya & Ben Armstrong & Simon Hales & Aline Chiabai & Patrick Criqui & Silvana Mima, 2009. "Impact on public health of strategies to reduce greenhouse gases : low carbon electricity generation," Post-Print halshs-00459664, HAL.
    3. Seth Shonkoff & Rachel Morello-Frosch & Manuel Pastor & James Sadd, 2011. "The climate gap: environmental health and equity implications of climate change and mitigation policies in California—a review of the literature," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 485-503, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mary Fox & Christopher Zuidema & Bridget Bauman & Thomas Burke & Mary Sheehan, 2019. "Integrating Public Health into Climate Change Policy and Planning: State of Practice Update," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Shreya S. Shrikhande & Sonja Merten & Olga Cambaco & Tristan Lee & Ravivarman Lakshmanasamy & Martin Röösli & Mohammad Aqiel Dalvie & Jürg Utzinger & Guéladio Cissé, 2023. "“Climate Change and Health?”: Knowledge and Perceptions among Key Stakeholders in Puducherry, India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-18, March.

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