238409 Climate Change and Human Health: An Overview

Saturday, October 29, 2011: 9:00 AM

John M. Balbus, MD, MPH , National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
The face of climate change in the mind of the public is too often that of a polar bear, and too seldom that of a human. While climate change is a process that will manifest itself increasingly over future decades and beyond, the impacts of climate change on human health are already detectable around the world and in the United States. Understanding the range of climate change health impacts and the degree to which those impacts are already occurring is the first step in effectively communicating with the general public about climate change. The second step is recognizing that in addressing the root causes of climate change, there is great potential for reducing environmental and other health risks and improving public health and quality of life. This talk will introduce learners to the ways in which climate change is and will impact public health, the current and projected public health burdens of climate change impacts, and the opportunities for public health benefits to accrue from reducing emission of greenhouse gases in other sectors.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Communication and informatics
Environmental health sciences
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to: (1) Describe the public health implications of climate change.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked on assessing and communicating the health impacts of climate change for more than 15 years and currently co-chair the federal government's work group on climate change and human health, as well as representing the Department of Health and Human Services to the Global Change Research Program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.