Climate Change and Health: New approaches are expected from epidemiologists

Abstract

Climate change is becoming mainstream in public health research given the direct impact on health from extreme weather, heat waves, and other indirect health impacts. The usual approaches in epidemiology study design and analyses are not as effective given the gravity of climate change that some termed as an existential threat. Epidemiologists are therefore expected to pursue a paradigm shift in their approach to deal with this threat from climate change. The aim of this presentation is to provide two approaches as examples of how epidemiologists engage this public health threat. One approach is health policy communication. This is not a strength of most epidemiologists and not taught in graduate schools of public health. The International Network for Epidemiology and Policy (INEP) was formed to address this gap and one of its first tasks was to address Climate Change Health Policy. The process of this initiative from the 24 international epidemiology societies who are members of INEP and up to the publication of a policy brief will be described. The second approach is a collaboration with non-traditional partners such as faith leaders, social scientists, ecologists, politicians and physical scientists to address climate change from a multidisciplinary perspective. The common focus would be community engagement. This will be demonstrated through a partnership with the Pontifical Academy of Science that culminated in a Nature Springer Book to be published inclusive of a diverse group of authors and notable Nobel Laureates in Chemistry and Biology.