2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

333735
Advancing Communication of Climate Change as an Important Public Health and Equity Issue: California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department Pilot Campaign


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 8:46 a.m. - 9:02 a.m.

Brooke Sommerfeldt, MPH, Office of Health Equity, Climate and Health Team, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA
Kathleen Karle, MEd, MCHES, San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, San Luis Obispo, CA
Kathy Dervin, MPH, Public Health Institute Center for Climate Change and Health, Berkeley, CA
  
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
While considerable work has been done in recent years to increase public knowledge about the implications of climate change, few efforts have used a health frame to reach the public. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Climate and Health Team has prioritized the development of climate and health communication strategies and messages to increase awareness of climate change as an important health issue and enhance support for health-oriented climate action in communities around California.

CDPH developed a pilot climate change and health education campaign, “OutsideIn SLO: We take health and climate change personally,” which was launched in August 2014 in San Luis Obispo County, California, through a partnership between CDPH and the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department. OutsideIn SLO was designed to highlight the co-benefits between climate protection and health promotion and promote climate friendly actions such as active transportation, healthy local food supply and household energy efficiency, alongside healthy community activities currently underway in San Luis Obispo County.

The presentation will provide an overview of the importance of promoting climate change as a health and equity issue. Opportunities and challenges for communicating climate change with a health frame will be described, including specific insights gained from the OutsideIn SLO climate and health education pilot campaign.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the connection between climate change, public health and health equity. Describe reasons why local public health agencies should take a leadership role in communicating climate change as an important health issue. Describe ways to increase awareness of and engagement in climate change as an important health issue.

Keyword(s): Climate and Health, Communication

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was involved in the development of this project from its inception - community meetings, development of materials, community and staff training, and evaluation components. I have over 25 years healthcare experience in clinics, hospitals and government settings.
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.

Back to: 4058.0: Climate change and public health (Collaborative session with ENV Section)