communications strategy –disseminate knowledge of climate impacts to the health community and the...
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• Communications Strategy – Disseminate knowledge of climate impacts to the health
community and the public
– (Physicians, Public Health Departments, General Public)
• Develop and coordinate multi-agency organizational structures to address climate change and health˜ Improve Institutional Adaptive Capacity
– Encourage more proactive planning for climate change (in an already overextended health care system!)
• Regional Scale Climate Modelling
Opportunities to Improve Adaptive Capacity
Goal: Help Canadians cope with the effects of climate change on
their health
•facilitate knowledge development on climate change and health impacts
•use the knowledge to adapt public health policies to protect public health
•examine the health benefits and costs of mitigation technology measures (e.g., emissions trading, sealed homes)
CCHO acts as the Health Node for C-CIARN
Climate Change and Health Office
CANADA'S HEALTH IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY
- Cold and heat related illnesses- Respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses- Increased occupational health risks
- Damaged public health infrastructure- Injuries and illnesses- Social and mental health stress due to disasters- Occupational health hazards- Preparedness and population displacement
- Changed exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollutants and allergens - Asthma and other respiratory diseases- Heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases - Cancer
- Enteric diseases and contaminants
- Changed patterns of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens carried by mosquitos, ticks and other vectors
- Skin damage and skin cancer- Cataracts- Disturbed immune function
- Seniors- Children- Poor health- Low income and homeless- Traditional populations- Disabled- Immigrant populations
- Changed determinants of health & well-being - Global burden of disease- Vulnerability of community economies- Health and social co-benefits and risks of GHG reduction technologies
Temperature-related morbidity and mortality
Health effects of extreme weather events
Air pollution-related health effects
Water- and food-borne contamination
Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases
Health effects of stratospheric ozone depletion
Population vulnerabilities in rural and urban communities
Health and socio-economic impacts on community health & well-being
Health Concerns Examples of Health Vulnerabilities
Institute of Population Health – Expert Panel Report
Climate change poses significant health risks, now and in the future
Climate change will place greater demands on the social infrastructure supporting public health and well-being
The health and social impacts will result in significant costs to Canadian society, including increased health care costs, loss of productivity, and damages to the well-being of Canadians
Impacts and capacity to respond will vary by region
Models for projecting the direct health effects of climate change require further development in order to provide quantitative estimates of the magnitude of the impacts
Costs to Society of Climate Variability
•1998 Ice Storm – 600 000 people evacuated, 28 deaths, 945 injuries, $7 billion in damages
•1997 Red River Flood – 25 000 people evacuated, $815 million in damages
•From 1991 - 2001, natural disasters cost Canadian governments over $13 billion to repair infrastructure and properties after natural disasters
•Contamination of drinking water and recreational waters costs Canadian communities approximately $300 million annually – climate change is expected to impact on the quality of drinking water
Public Health Implications in Local Communities
- food security and nutrition
- water quality/air quality
- disease monitoring and surveillance
- disaster preparedness and relief
- housing and shelter
- education and awareness (sun protection)
- healthy child development
- emergency services (community health centres)
- mental health
What can be done to protect public health in a changing
climate?
•Mitigate – reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that
cause climate change and variability (I.e., Kyoto Protocol
is first step)
•Build Knowledge – be informed of health impacts of
climate change and relevance to public health programs
•Plan and Adapt – adjust public health policies to account
for climate changes and minimize the impact on health
The Need for a Public Health Response
What is Needed?
Knowledge need to understand the likely impacts of climate change on health and the effectiveness of existing adaptation strategies
Awareness need to develop awareness of the threats from climate change and the need for action Action need to begin planning and then implementing
effective adaptation strategies
Integration Bring health perspective to other municipal activities (e.g., transportation, urban
planning, greencover, social services, affordable housing, agriculture, etc.)
The Public Health Response
Adaptation in Action
Linking Weather to Health in the U.K.:
•Collaboration between the UK Meteorological Office and the National Health Services to use weather and climate data to help predict fluctuations in workload for health service providers
•Forecasts give twice weekly projected emergency admissions by broad diagnoses and age group
•Forecasts have had up to an 80% success rate, and allow hospitals to appropriately schedule staff hours and elective surgeries
Civil Security in Quebec:
•Municipal emergency response plans developed to meet the basic needs of residents during natural disasters
•National emergency preparedness plan integrates resources of firefighters, officers, Met Office, OCIPEP, Red Cross, Hydro-Quebec
Public health communities in Canada need information on how climate change will affect health, their capacity to adapt and how best to adapt Our plan:
•Evaluating current public health activities related to climate change
•Developing future scenarios of climate change-related health impacts
•Compiling best practices for adapting to climate change across Canada
Meeting Public Health Needs
Purpose: assist users in understanding health issues related to climate change and in communicating the issues to colleagues and decision-makers
•Toolkit will be provided to Medical Officers of Health, Directors of Public Health, key public health organizations
•Toolkit has 3 major sections (1) Understanding the Impacts (2) Public Health Response (3) Building Awareness
Status: Final version expected Spring 2003
Information Toolkit
•Collaboration between C-CIARN and public health sector
•Developing case studies and assessing capacity to adapt
•CCHO – “One Stop Information Resource for Health”
•CCHO website launch February, 2003:
•Funding sources for climate change science and policy research
•Potential adaptation measures and case studies
•Latest scientific research findings
•Bibliography of public health adaptation literature
climatinfo@hc-sc.gc.ca
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cc
(613) 954-0161
Next Steps
Annex 1: Health Issue Research Networks
Health Concerns Organization
Health effects of extreme weather events
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction http://www.iclr.org
Air pollution-related health effects New Brunswick Lung Associationhttp://www.nb.lung.ca/home.html
Food and water-borne contamination Health Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Controlhttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/new_e.html
Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases Health Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (web address as above)
Population vulnerability in communities
Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université (Québec)http://www.chuq.qc.ca/oms
Socio-economic impacts on community health and well-being
International Institute For Sustainable Developmenthttp://www.iisd.org/climate/
Reduce the stress imposed by climate change especially on vulnerable individuals
Reduce the stressors that contribute to the cumulative impact of climate change
Contribute to efforts that will minimize climate change
www.c-ciarn-ontario.ca
Local Action in Communities:
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