That climate change should have an effect on our health almost goes without saying. Indeed, weather and climate have affected human health for millennia. Now, climate change is altering weather and climate patterns that previously have been relatively stable. The result of this will be more frequent and severe heat waves and extreme weather events. All of these have the potential to affect human health directly, or indirectly.
Climate change affects both social and environmental determinants of health: clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 2030 and 2050 climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Clearly, being prepared will pay a dividend.
Understanding the health challenges that are coming demand a certain type of knowledge, especially when helping to inform and educate populations facing those effects. Who better to undertake this than regional Health Authorities (HA) and more specifically, public health workers?
In late 2013, a survey of HA staff across the province was conducted on the perceptions and knowledge of health workers about climate change and its effects on human health. The study found that a majority of participants believed that climate change has already had an effect on the health of B.C.’s population and its communities, and that it will continue to impact human health issues in the province over time. And while many HAs are currently undertaking activities to adapt to and mitigate the health effects of a changing climate, they are generally not approaching this work through the lens of climate change.
A number of suggestions for developing the necessary knowledge and skills came out of that research. First would be to increase the role of the public health sector in proactively addressing and responding to the health effects of climate change. Health authorities are particularly well positioned to educate the public and could also help the public to reframe and broaden the understanding of climate change from solely an “environmental issue” to a “human health” issue.
Because the problem is so broadly based, the province should provide leadership and support; it would be unrealistic for individual HAs to prioritize this work given existing limits on resources. At the same time, building local and regional partnerships would be equally valuable as the effects of climate change are experienced at the local level.
The key will be to support and build capacity in health authority staff through education about the specific effects of climate change on health and to build skills on how to take a role in mitigating those effects. Also important will be to develop localized data along with evidence-based information related to health and climate change to better inform and build greater understanding among staff and the public.
As the impacts of climate change in BC become more severe, the role of the public health sector to proactively address human health effects will only become more urgent.
Editor’s note: Dr. Paul Martiquet is the medical health officer for rural Vancouver Coastal Health including Powell River, the Sunshine Coast, Sea-to-Sky, Bella Bella and Bella Coola.
