Bracing for impact: Preparing a comprehensive approach to tackling climate change for public health agencies

While there is scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and will have significant effects on human health, there are numerous challenges for public health agencies in being able to anticipate, prepare for and respond to the effects. In response to the need for a comprehensive approach to tackle the health effects of climate change, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has initiated a range of activities to provide greater insight and guidance to public health agencies.

This presentation will highlight new guidance for establishing ‘climate ready' public health agencies. A 5 stage process has been developed to support state and city health agencies to achieve goals set out in CDC's Climate Ready States and Cities Initiative. This guidance can be applied by public health agencies at all tiers of government. The 5 stages plot a process to: • build understanding of climate scenarios • develop tools and models that assist with anticipating the most likely health impacts • identify vulnerable populations • plan and prioritize response • enhance response/interventions

The presentation will highlight efforts under way to translate the latest findings from the atmospheric and climatic sciences, and to develop related tools that are tailored for use by the public health community. The speaker will describe initiatives under way that include enhanced surveillance activities, strategies to model vulnerability to climate-sensitive health outcomes, and activities to promote workforce development.

The speaker will also discuss initiatives that are building climate change capabilities within state and local health agencies that will enable them to forecast the most likely health impacts from climate change within their area, identify communities and systems most at risk, and apply this learning to enhance public health preparedness planning and response.