Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, US.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US.
Ann Glob Health. 2022 Jul 27;88(1):63. doi: 10.5334/aogh.3876. eCollection 2022.
Caribbean small island developing states are highly exposed to climate change impacts. Incorporating weather and climate information into public health decisions can promote resilience to climate change's adverse health effects, but regionally it is not common practice. We implemented a project to enhance dialogue between climate and public health specialists in Puerto Rico and Dominica. First, we conducted environmental scans of public health vulnerability in the context of weather and climate for both islands. Then, we convened stakeholders to discuss the scan results and identify priorities for climate and health. A shared priority was increasing climate and health knowledge; thus, we developed several educational initiatives. In this viewpoint, we discuss our process for conducting environmental scans, building capacity and partnerships, and translating knowledge-to-action around climate and health.
加勒比小岛屿发展中国家高度容易受到气候变化的影响。将天气和气候信息纳入公共卫生决策可以增强对气候变化不利健康影响的抵御能力,但在该地区,这并不是常见的做法。我们实施了一个项目,以加强波多黎各和多米尼克的气候和公共卫生专家之间的对话。首先,我们对这两个岛屿的天气和气候背景下的公共卫生脆弱性进行了环境扫描。然后,我们召集利益攸关方讨论扫描结果,并确定气候与健康方面的优先事项。一个共同的优先事项是增加气候和健康知识;因此,我们制定了几项教育计划。在这篇观点文章中,我们讨论了我们进行环境扫描、建立能力和伙伴关系以及围绕气候和健康将知识转化为行动的过程。