Abstract
BackgroundClimate change is among the major challenges for health this century, and adaptation to manage adverse health outcomes will be unavoidable. The risks in Ontario – Canada’s most populous province – include increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and alterations to precipitation regimes. Socio-economic-demographic patterns could magnify the implications climate change has for Ontario, including the presence of rapidly growing vulnerable populations, exacerbation of warming trends by heat-islands in large urban areas, and connectedness to global transportation networks. This study examines climate change adaptation in the public health sector in Ontario using information from interviews with government officials.MethodsFifty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted, four with provincial and federal health officials and 49 with actors in public health and health relevant sectors at the municipal level. We identify adaptation efforts, barriers and opportunities for current and future intervention.ResultsResults indicate recognition that climate change will affect the health of Ontarians. Health officials are concerned about how a changing climate could exacerbate existing health issues or create new health burdens, specifically extreme heat (71%), severe weather (68%) and poor air-quality (57%). Adaptation is currently taking the form of mainstreaming climate change into existing public health programs. While adaptive progress has relied on local leadership, federal support, political will, and inter-agency efforts, a lack of resources constrains the sustainability of long-term adaptation programs and the acquisition of data necessary to support effective policies.ConclusionsThis study provides a snapshot of climate change adaptation and needs in the public health sector in Ontario. Public health departments will need to capitalize on opportunities to integrate climate change into policies and programs, while higher levels of government must improve efforts to support local adaptation and provide the capacity through which local adaptation can succeed.
Highlights
Climate change is among the major challenges for health this century, and adaptation to manage adverse health outcomes will be unavoidable
Departments selected were involved in adaptation initiative(s) addressing one or more health vulnerabilities of climate change
Federal public health departments or agencies that are active in researching ways to support climate change adaptation in Canada were selected to facilitate characterization of national efforts and their influence on local adaptation and in the future
Summary
Climate change is among the major challenges for health this century, and adaptation to manage adverse health outcomes will be unavoidable. The risks in Ontario – Canada’s most populous province – include increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and alterations to precipitation regimes. Climate change has been identified as one of the major challenges for health this century [1]. The risks in Canada include increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme weather, and alterations to precipitation regimes [2]. Projections indicate that: Changing temperature and precipitation regimes will increase the probability and severity of extreme events including heatwaves, storms, floods, drought, and wildfires with implications for asthma, chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and water quality and contamination [3,4,5]. Changing frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, for example, could affect socio-cultural well-being and mental health [3]
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