Newswise — The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is hosting an expert briefing for the media from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, September 14, on the impacts climate change is having on people’s health due to the wide array of current issues, including flooding, drought, extreme heat, increased incidents of vector-borne illnesses, access to safe drinking water, and smoke from wildfires.
Experts will also address the lack of funding available to local health agencies as they work to address more frequent and serious on-the-ground, climate-related public health crises. The experts will discuss tangible approaches for how cities and rural areas can respond to climate change challenges to try to keep people safe and healthy.
Other topics to be discussed include:
- What can be done to support the most vulnerable areas, which research shows are also the least prepared.
- The effects of climate change on human health – from norovirus and asthma attacks to injury and death.
- The work undertaken by underfunded and understaffed local health departments to support residents through measures that include cooling centers, education around the effects of climate disasters (including injuries, disease outbreaks, mold, and threats to drinking water), and vector control to address outbreaks of Lyme disease, West Nile, and malaria.
- The mental health impacts of a changing climate, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and even suicide.
- How federal agencies, states, and local health agencies can work together to ensure communities have the resources and support they need.
Featuring:
- Mary Fox, PhD, an assistant professor in the departments of Health Policy and Management and Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She develops cumulative risk assessments that consider how biological, chemical, environmental, and social factors together affect the public's health.
- Megan Latshaw, PhD, an associate scientist in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She translates environmental health science to policy and practice, with a focus on designing communities where the healthy choice is the easy choice.
Registration required: Please contact [email protected] by 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, September 12, to receive the Zoom link and password. Questions may be submitted in advance to [email protected] or via chat during the briefing.
Additional Resources
- Integrating Public Health into Climate Change Policy and Planning: State of Practice Update (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health; Mary Fox et al.)
- Urban Climate-Health Governance: Charting the Role of Public Health in Large Global City Adaptation Plans (PLOS CLIMATE, Mary Fox et al.)
- Climate Change & Health: Assessing State Preparedness (Bloomberg American Health Initiative; Megan Latshaw et al.)
- Climate Change and Human Health (EPA)
- Understanding the Connections Between Climate Change and Human Health (EPA)
- After the Flood: Mold-Specific Resources (HHS)
- Warning Signs and Symptoms of Heat-Related Illness (CDC)
- Heat-Related Illnesses (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
- Climate Effects on Health (CDC)
- Waterborne Disease in the U.S. (CDC)
- Health Implications of Drought (CDC)
- City of Tampa Opens Cooling Centers (City of Tampa)
- California’s first Clean Air Center opens in San Francisco (CA.gov)
- Vermont Floods Illustrate the Need for Reforms by FEMA and State (NRDC)
- National Association of County and City Health Officials, Environmental Health (NACCHO)
- Why is Climate Change a Public Health Issue? (APHA)
- NASA Clocks July 2023 as Hottest Month on Record Ever Since 1880 (NASA)
Journal Link: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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