Climate Change and Underserved Communities

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Key points

  • Climate change is a threat to the basic necessities of life, especially for the most vulnerable. These necessities include health, shelter, food, and water.

  • Climate change will have direct health impact on populations seen in primary care.

  • The effects of climate change must be dampened with adaptation and mitigation strategies.

A global perspective on climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines climate change as a change in the state of the climate that persists for an extended period, typically decades, and can be identified by the variability of its properties. It is also any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.1 Climate change is not currently widely accepted as a health hazard by health care professionals in the United States; yet it is the single greatest global

Climate change in the primary care setting

Climate change is a phenomenon that is real but is still approached with skepticism. It is the duty of health care practitioners to learn about the various impacts of climate change and serve as an informant for their patients as well as serving as sentinels for the public health sector when health crises erupt due to climate change. Although the impact of climate change will be seen across the globe, low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) with minimal resources along with the

Addressing health disparities related to climate change

The health effects of climate change will not be uniform across the globe. LMICs that already lack the basic infrastructure to meet the essential health care needs of its citizens, are likely to suffer to a greater extent from the impact of climate change than developed countries. These LMICs have little capacity to prevent and/or treat illnesses due to climate change. Ironically, LMICs are the least responsible for climate change, producing less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.38

Adaptation strategies

Considering that LMICs and susceptible groups are more vulnerable to the adverse health effects of climate change, policies promoting adaptation and mitigation strategies should be implemented. Adaptation refers to actions taken by individuals, communities, and governments to lessen or protect against the impacts of climate change. On the other hand, mitigation refers to actions taken by individuals, communities, and governments to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emission, thereby limiting

Summary

Primary care providers can act as critical advocates for the populations they serve by promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies to optimize the health spans of patients. As frontline providers, primary care providers are critical informants for policymakers, public health researchers, and patients on the emerging health impacts of climate change. In addition to emergency preparedness in the face of increasing climate-related events, primary care providers must be aware of

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    This article originally appeared in Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, Volume 44, Issue 1, March 2017.

    Disclosure Statement: The authors of this work report no direct financial interest in the subject matter or any material discussed in this article.

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