{"id":14169,"date":"2020-03-08T20:31:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T20:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nccdh-dev.media-doc.ca\/centring-equity-in-emerging-public-health-responses-to-climate-change-2\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T18:12:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T18:12:32","slug":"centring-equity-in-emerging-public-health-responses-to-climate-change-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccdh-dev.media-doc.ca\/fr\/centring-equity-in-emerging-public-health-responses-to-climate-change-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Centring equity in emerging public health responses to climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the second blog in a series that explores the connections between climate change, health equity and public health. Click here to read the first blog in this series<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

We look forward to your responses. Feedback, comments or stories from the field can be sent to author Pemma Muzumdar, NCCDH knowledge translation specialist, at pmuzumd@stfx.ca<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Climate change, health equity and public health<\/h2>\n

Climate change is an urgent public health issue with many implications for health equity. In fact, in a recent conceptual framework from the Pan American Health Organization’s Equity Commission, the state of the climate is specifically named as a structural driver of health equity and a dignified life. This is because the climate, alongside racism, colonization and income, shapes vulnerability and overall opportunities for health. [1<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The relationship between climate change, health and health equity is explored in a previous blog post (\u00ab\u00a0Climate change and health equity<\/a>\u00ab\u00a0), [2<\/a>] as well as a 2020 curated reading list (Climate change, health equity and public health responses: A curated list<\/em><\/a>). [3<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Considering equity in emerging public health responses to a changing climate<\/h2>\n

A 2015 study<\/a> [4<\/a>] explored how jurisdictions across Canada were adapting to climate change, revealing significant variation between and within provinces, territories and municipalities.<\/p>\n

Today, questions remain about the current state of public health adaptation across Canada. What’s more, to our knowledge, there is no comprehensive synthesis of how health equity is (or is not) being conceptualized and integrated into emerging public health responses.<\/p>\n

These responses include conducting climate change and health vulnerability assessments; supporting communities to adapt to climate change; participating in advocacy and policy development; and contributing to the formal research literature on climate change, equity and public health.<\/p>\n

Each response is explored below, with specific consideration given to how health equity shows up in and informs this work. Opportunities to better integrate equity into future responses are also identified.  <\/p>\n

Climate change response 1: Public health organizations are conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments related to climate change and health.<\/h2>\n

At a federal level, HealthADAPT, a multi-year program of Health Canada, is funding 10 projects across Canada<\/a> [5<\/a>] with the aim of supporting public health and the health system to prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change. It’s also worth noting that climate change and health vulnerability assessments have already been published by certain health units in Ontario, including Middlesex-London<\/a> [6<\/a>] in 2014 and Simcoe Muskoka<\/a> [7<\/a>] in 2017. In 2018, the Ontario Public Health Standards were updated to include a Healthy environments and climate change guideline<\/em><\/a> [8<\/a>] that specifically names health vulnerability and adaptation assessments as a way to build public health capacity in responding to environmental risks.<\/p>\n

Informal learning networks are also emerging at the local and regional level for those conducting health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. For example, representatives from eight — and sometimes more — health units have been meeting regularly to share resources, to discuss ideas and issues related to conducting assessments and to contemplate adaptations that support health. [9<\/a>] [a<\/a>]. <\/p>\n

Health equity in vulnerability and adaptation assessments<\/h3>\n

In a 2018 article<\/a>, [1<\/a>0<\/a>] Chris G. Buse, PhD, CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Environmental Assessment Research, University of British Columbia, argues that conducting such assessments can increase the resources directed towards reducing health inequities. This is because identifying and naming inequities, as well as considering how they may be exacerbated by climate change, is embedded into the assessment process. He also underscores that the way health equity is approached within assessments is important. This is because limited framing can lead to equally limited action, such as communicating the risks of climate change to vulnerable populations, rather than taking more upstream action on the root causes of health inequities.<\/p>\n

Opportunities to centre health equity in future assessments <\/h3>\n

Resources for those conducting assessments include a 2013 guidance document from the WHO<\/a> [11<\/a>] and a 2017 Ontario-based toolkit<\/a>. [12<\/a>] The Ontario toolkit includes excellent advice and case studies from multiple Canadian jurisdictions, naming socioeconomic pathways as important drivers of climate change risk. Future guidance, however, could be improved with a stronger health equity focus, including guidance on how to conceptualize health equity within assessments; how to select indicators related to socioeconomic vulnerability and resilience, [13<\/a>] and how to engage equitably with Indigenous and Racialized communities as partners and sources of knowledge and expertise. [14<\/a>,15<\/a>] The latter is particularly important in describing historical trends, assessing social cohesion and predicting a community’s ability to cope with and recover from climate impacts.<\/p>\n

Climate change response 2: Public health is supporting communities to adapt to climate change through, for example, heat action programs. <\/h2>\n

Several jurisdictions have launched heat action programs. A 2016 report from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction<\/a> [16<\/a>] captures case examples from several jurisdictions. A 2012 Health Canada guidebook [17<\/a>] also documents case examples and offers best practices to the field.<\/p>\n

Health equity in heat action programs<\/h3>\n

In 2019, Montreal’s public health department reported that extreme heat caused 66 deaths between June 30 and July 8, 2018. [17<\/a>] Montreal’s reporting on the relationship between deaths and health inequities during this extreme heat event provides a promising example; they specifically named social isolation and low income as a major factor in heat-related deaths. Taking this into account, the city’s 2019 heat response plans centred on engaging with municipal and community partners to target responses to those at highest risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Learn more<\/strong> about how Montreal responds to extreme heat, iincluding how it differs from other jurisdictions in tracking heat related deaths:<\/p>\n