Public Health and Climate Change: A guide for Increasing the Capacity of Local Public Health Departments
- Abstract
This guidebook is designed to support efforts to initiate and integrate climate planning within cunty, regional, and tribal public health departments and agencies. It will provide you and your department with the knowledge and skills to build capacity to address climate impacts and/or develop a climate action plan for your department. The strategies and activities will enhance your efforts to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare for impacts. By working through the guidebook and activities over the new six months to a year, you can build sustained institutional capacity to manage the health impacts of climate change. An individual can complete the guidebook and associated activities independently. However, adoption and integration of the recommendations by your department is likely to be more effective when the guidebook is completed in partnership with, or at least with support from, organizational leadership.There are four sections: One provides an overview of the impacts of climate change on public health; Two discusses opportunities and strategies for integrating climate planning across programs; Three focuses on identifying and building unique external collaborations to help you meet your goals in a resource efficincy way; and Four provides recommendations for communicating with different stakeholders. Each section has an activity or series of activities to move you and your program or department further down the path of implementation. The Appendices at the end of the guidebook provide additional resources. While the guidebook was esigned to be completed from start to finish, you can focus on certain sections where you need the greatest support and skip those where you’ve already made progress. Because we have found that a climate mitigation or adaptation process must meet the unique needs (and constraints) of the community, sector, or department for which it’s developed, we do not provide a step-to-step methodology for climate planning. Instead, this guidebook is intended to supplement planning efforts and provide strategies to build support for action among colleagues and within your community.
- Resource Type
- Report
- Authors
- The Resource Innovation Group biositu
- Date
- 2011
- Institution
- The Resource Innovation Group and biositu
- Organization Type
- Ngo
- Solution
- Public health/health sector response