Climate change makes asthma, COPD, diabetes, and many other illnesses worse. Somewhat surprisingly, doctors and nurses may not know enough about the health impacts of the climate crisis to consider them when developing plans to treat climate-impacted disease, or even to prevent it.
Harvard University, the American Public Health Association (APHA), Americares, and Biogen, a biotech company committed to eliminating 100% of its fossil fuel emissions by 2040, have teamed up to create highly useful tool kits to help parents, teachers, patients, and public health providers reduce climate-related illness.
Here are three they highlighted at a recent webinar organized by Sustainable Brands titled, “Living Healthier in the Age of Climate Change: New Resources to Address Climate and Health.” All are free and easily available at the links provided.
When Harvard’s Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment surveyed clinic staff in 47 US states and territories, the results were shocking:
- 81% of clinic staff said their clinic experienced some kind of disruption due to extreme weather within the past three years.
- Fewer than 20% of staff felt their clinic was very resilient.
- 7% said they either didn’t know how to prepare for climate disruptions or didn’t have the tools they need to do so.
The Clinics Toolkit, developed with Americares, a relief and development organization that believes “health is a human right,” aims to change that. The kit suggests assessing patients with COPD or asthma for air quality risks from indoor air pollution in their homes. It shows healthcare providers how to make a “Heat Action Plan” for their patients and protect patients with existing medical conditions during extreme heat. It also suggests ways to prepare for power outages, conserve energy, and use backup solar panels in the event of an outage.
This resource was created by AHA’s Children’s Environmental Health Committee. It includes fact sheets, lesson plans, activity books, and explanations of what climate change is and how it could affect kids’ health. Resources are age-appropriate and correspond to the following school categories: pre-K, K-4, 5-8, 9-12. Young students may read the story One Plastic Bag. High schoolers learn the science behind climate change and discuss environmental justice.
The Climate Storytelling Guide
“Stories generate empathy and understanding,” says APHA. “They take listeners on an emotional journey and offer a sense of hope that inspires positive change.” But how do you tell a story that connects with people and shows them that their action is “needed, doable, and worth it”? Start by using a message box to frame your account, the guide recommends. The box encourages you to put your audience first in understanding what they value and how the message you’re trying to impart affects them. Next, show, don’t tell. As important as the facts are, what most people will remember hearing is how climate change affects real people and what can be done about it. Finally, think about the most compelling stories you’ve heard people recount about their climate health experiences. APHA’s website includes a story from Judy Lynn Olsen, an environmental health supervisor in Washington State who suffers from asthma and multiple sclerosis. Her short story about how she had to put on a cooling vest she kept in her freezer to help her lungs cope with intense wildfire smoke might make you think about fire’s impact on asthma sufferers in a different way.
Harvard’s Dr. Aaron Bernstein said during the webinar, “We can’t allow health disparities to fester… We need patient-centered client action that … puts people at risk in our focus first.” These tool kits and guide will make it easier to do just that.
Consider sending the links to your healthcare providers, as well as your child’s teachers, your school’s PTA, and school administrators, especially those responsible for your child’s science and health curriculum.