Are we ready yet? Climate change preparedness in local health departments

Climate change threatens human health through multiple avenues, including extreme weather, changes in rainfall, spreading vector-borne diseases, and reduced air quality; public health departments face the growing challenge of protecting Americans from these threats. A survey by the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) assessed public health directors' perceptions of local effects of climate change and their readiness to respond. The study is a follow-up to a 2008 survey, which found widespread belief among health directors that climate change was already occurring locally, and would cause a serious local health problem within 20 years; few believed they had the expertise to address the threat. Over the ensuing three years, the U.S. public's recognition of climate change dropped and political polarization increased. This study assesses changes in health directors' views since 2008 in light of the national trends, and compares health directors to the general public. A geographically representative national survey of public health directors (N=175) was conducted online in Dec.-Feb. 2011-2012. Results show that directors are more convinced of the reality of climate change than the general public by a margin of more than 10 percent, but their belief in climate change has dropped since 2008, and attitudes have polarized: E.g., Strong agreement that climate change will cause a serious local health problem increased by 18%, while strong disagreement increased by 9%. The data also suggest that the public health community is no more ready now than it was three years ago: Less than 20 percent say their health department has the needed expertise. To assist health departments in understanding and preparing for the health threats of climate change, NACCHO has created a tool-kit for local health departments that will be unveiled as part of this presentation; discussion will focus on the tool-kit's use in increasing preparedness.