Using Climate Scenarios to Inform Public Health Planning in Overburdened Communities in Florida and Mississippi
Implementing Organization
Urban Institute
Overview
DWH Project Funding
$1,482,900
Known Leveraged Funding
$0
Funding Organization
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine – Gulf Research Program (NASEM - GRP)
Funding Program
NASEM Gulf Research Program Grants
Details
Project Category
Science
Project Actions
Environmental Research
Targeted Resources
Project Description
Climate hazards like heat waves and hurricanes are associated with negative public health outcomes, but local governments, healthcare providers and emergency managers in overburdened communities often have inadequate tools to proactively plan for them, especially with the uncertainties of climate change. This project will develop a unique framework, at the intersection of climate and health, that will allow overburdened communities in Florida and Mississippi to develop robust public health strategies aimed at reducing negative health outcomes due to climate hazards and addressing treatment capacity at emergency rooms and hospitals. First, we will define overburdened communities according to their socio-demographic characteristics and unequal exposure to environmental burdens. Next, we will model the empirical relationships between health and extreme events by combining datasets on hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and extreme climate events in the two states - allowing a more nuanced analysis than mortality rates. Third, we will ground-truth our model assumptions by collecting qualitative data in four case study communities. Fourth, we will draw on a unique, publicly available down-scaled climate change model to forecast the public health effects of extreme events under different warming scenarios and on different timescales. Fifth, we will create an online, customizable data visualization and scenario planning tool that draws on the climate and health models. We will then collaborate with key stakeholders in the four case communities to host scenario planning workshops that envision climate health adaptation pathways. A scenario planning guide will allow other overburdened communities to replicate these analyses and workshops.
Contact
Andrew RumbachNone
arumbach@urban.org
Project Website
None
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