Priorities for Bolstering Public Health Resilience in the Context of Climate Change in Dominica and Puerto Rico

Hannah H Covert; Lissa Fortes Soares; Firoz Abdoel Wahid; Teddy Allen; Zack Guido; David Johnson; Roché Mahon; Pablo Méndez-Lázaro; Mya Sherman; Sylvester St Ville; Adrian Trotman; Maureen Y Lichtveld

doi:10.5334/aogh.3876

Priorities for Bolstering Public Health Resilience in the Context of Climate Change in Dominica and Puerto Rico

Ann Glob Health. 2022 Jul 27;88(1):63. doi: 10.5334/aogh.3876. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hannah H Covert^{1

2}, Lissa Fortes Soares¹, Firoz Abdoel Wahid^{1

2}, Teddy Allen³, Zack Guido⁴, David Johnson⁵, Roché Mahon³, Pablo Méndez-Lázaro⁶, Mya Sherman¹, Sylvester St Ville⁵, Adrian Trotman³, Maureen Y Lichtveld^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, US.
² Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US.
³ Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, St. James, Barbados.
⁴ Arizona Institute for Resilience Environments and Societies and the School of Natural Resources and Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, US.
⁵ Ministry of Health, Wellness and New Health Investment, Roseau, Dominica.
⁶ Envronmental Health Department, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Caribbean; Dominica; Puerto Rico; climate and health; environmental scan; small island developing states (SIDS).

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Climate Change*
Dominica
Humans
Public Health*
Puerto Rico
Weather

Grants and funding

This work was supported through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration International Research and Applications Project (NA18OAR4310338).