Is Healthcare Ready for Climate Change?
21/02/22 06:20
A lack of progress reducing greenhouse gas emissions and continued destruction of diversity in natural ecosystems are breaking some basic rules governing co-existence in the natural world.
The supportive environment humans evolved in, and now exploit to meet our needs, exists because of complex connections among ecological partners.
By breaking or altering these relationships, we are facing consequences for our health that could overwhelm healthcare.
In 2021, British Columbia experienced a heat dome that caused up to six-hundred deaths, drought, and wildfires.
In autumn, intense November rainstorms triggered devastating floods and landslides that inundated communities and severed important road and rail links.
All of this happened in a six-month period.
The World Weather Attribution Group did a rapid assessment of the record-breaking temperatures in June 2021.
It concluded that such heat waves remain extremely rare, “yet would be virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.” As global warming continues, such heatwaves will become more frequent.
The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions is warning of the need in British Columbia to better prepare our healthcare system for the impacts of climate change.
Studying peer-reviewed and grey literature to understand the relationship between the changing climate, health, and the public health system, researchers from Simon Fraser University examined a range of events brought about by global warming.
As they worked, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 demonstrated how profound and complex the threats to our health are, and how connected we are to the environmental spaces we live in.
The team has determined that the effects of climate change on the quality of human life, and human and ecological systems are likely to be even greater than those of a single infectious disease like COVID-19.
Their conclusions: “The disruption COVID-19 has caused at every level of society has given us pause to reassess our priorities, and highlighted the fragility of our current social, political, economic, and healthcare systems. It has also provided an opportunity to re-imagine our future.”
The study examined three areas of health and healthcare that drew attention during the pandemic and will be important in dealing with climate change-related illnesses – telemedicine, green infrastructure, and food security.
It recommends new strategies for telemedicine with the goals of improving consistency and standards across British Columbia and extending health care equitably and sustainably.
While brick and mortar facilities take time to plan, fund, and build, telemedicine “presents an opportunity to expand health care services to British Columbians while reducing carbon emissions by avoiding unnecessary travel, and bringing health services to people where they live.”
Such a strategy could promote standardization for all five health provincial authorities while ensuring equity and sustainability are a feature of both public and private initiatives.
The researchers also say a greater emphasis is needed on parks and natural outdoor spaces for health and wellness, reducing exposure to extreme heat and creating cleaner air.
Isolation at home during the COVID-19 pandemic made parks, open spaces, and forests places where we could preserve and improve our health and wellbeing. As the climate changes, intact natural forests and urban green spaces will reduce exposure to extreme heat, improve air quality, and support mental health.
Giving everyone a share of nature will “lessen intersecting economic and structural health inequities, particularly in urban and low-income settings.”
Their report also warns that climate change will impact growing seasons and the health of agricultural workers. It recommends planning for sustainable food systems with attention to production, processing, packaging, distribution, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food.
One of the co-authors, Dr. Tim Takaro, a Professor of Health Sciences at SFU, warns climate change poses “direct, indirect, and intersecting threats to human health” which will worsen existing health and social inequalities.
He says climate change “is a risk multiplier” and people stressed by “low income, inaccessibility to healthy foods, water, some of the very basics, and clean air” will face even greater stress.
Dr. Takaro says the pandemic brought a lot of things into focus concerning climate change, including how it will enhance the possibility of future pandemics.
He explains that animal populations are stressed by habitat losses and extinctions, leading to diminished immune systems making them more susceptible to the evolution of zoonotic diseases like Covid-Sars-2.
However, Dr. Takaro also says there is the government response to consider.
He notes that usually, “there is virtually no money ever for prevention in our budgets,” and they're “happy when as little as five percent of the total budget” is devoted to prevention.
Takaro says that COVID-19 showed there is money; there simply needs to be political will.
Another area of concern is the need for additional resilience in community water systems.
Takaro participated in a study for Health Canada that included a look at three Metro Vancouver water reservoirs and says “extreme rain events, that we certainly experienced this past winter, are a risk for gastrointestinal illness,” and even urban areas with high-quality water systems are not immune.
“When it rains really hard, especially after a dry period, people get waterborne illness.”
Takaro says small rural, isolated, and Indigenous communities are at particular risk as their water systems may not be state of the art.
Air quality is another concern and Takaro says the report underscores an urgent need for dramatic greenhouse gas reductions.
He warns the province cannot support more infrastructure to burn fossil fuels while saying it’s committed to transitioning to green energy.
“They are pretending that CleanBC and expanding liquid natural gas industry are consistent, and you can’t build a whole new infrastructure to burn fossil fuel in the future.”
Takaro notes that among the heat-related deaths that occurred in June, most were in marginalized populations.
He warns the hundreds of heat deaths BC experienced during the 2021 heat dome are only the beginning.
Federal and provincial governments continue to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, which he says is mortgaging the well-being of future generations.
“I really wish all of the future generations could be here with us now to speak their truth and for us to understand the profound impact our behaviour today will have on those future generations.”
The PICS study found COVID-19 demonstrated how profound and complex threats to human health can be and how interconnected we are with the environment we live in. Human life will be affected by climate change, and the strain on human and ecological systems will be much greater than those of a single infectious disease.
As we destroy virgin forests, animals may seek food and living space closer to our communities creating greater opportunities for viruses to be transmitted to us. Rising temperatures are now bringing vector-borne diseases to more northerly latitudes.
We are in a partnership with the other inhabitants of our landscapes and by breaking the rules of the game we face consequences for our health and well-being.
The supportive environment humans evolved in, and now exploit to meet our needs, exists because of complex connections among ecological partners.
By breaking or altering these relationships, we are facing consequences for our health that could overwhelm healthcare.
In 2021, British Columbia experienced a heat dome that caused up to six-hundred deaths, drought, and wildfires.
In autumn, intense November rainstorms triggered devastating floods and landslides that inundated communities and severed important road and rail links.
All of this happened in a six-month period.
The World Weather Attribution Group did a rapid assessment of the record-breaking temperatures in June 2021.
It concluded that such heat waves remain extremely rare, “yet would be virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.” As global warming continues, such heatwaves will become more frequent.
The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions is warning of the need in British Columbia to better prepare our healthcare system for the impacts of climate change.
Studying peer-reviewed and grey literature to understand the relationship between the changing climate, health, and the public health system, researchers from Simon Fraser University examined a range of events brought about by global warming.
As they worked, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 demonstrated how profound and complex the threats to our health are, and how connected we are to the environmental spaces we live in.
The team has determined that the effects of climate change on the quality of human life, and human and ecological systems are likely to be even greater than those of a single infectious disease like COVID-19.
Their conclusions: “The disruption COVID-19 has caused at every level of society has given us pause to reassess our priorities, and highlighted the fragility of our current social, political, economic, and healthcare systems. It has also provided an opportunity to re-imagine our future.”
The study examined three areas of health and healthcare that drew attention during the pandemic and will be important in dealing with climate change-related illnesses – telemedicine, green infrastructure, and food security.
It recommends new strategies for telemedicine with the goals of improving consistency and standards across British Columbia and extending health care equitably and sustainably.
While brick and mortar facilities take time to plan, fund, and build, telemedicine “presents an opportunity to expand health care services to British Columbians while reducing carbon emissions by avoiding unnecessary travel, and bringing health services to people where they live.”
Such a strategy could promote standardization for all five health provincial authorities while ensuring equity and sustainability are a feature of both public and private initiatives.
The researchers also say a greater emphasis is needed on parks and natural outdoor spaces for health and wellness, reducing exposure to extreme heat and creating cleaner air.
Isolation at home during the COVID-19 pandemic made parks, open spaces, and forests places where we could preserve and improve our health and wellbeing. As the climate changes, intact natural forests and urban green spaces will reduce exposure to extreme heat, improve air quality, and support mental health.
Giving everyone a share of nature will “lessen intersecting economic and structural health inequities, particularly in urban and low-income settings.”
Their report also warns that climate change will impact growing seasons and the health of agricultural workers. It recommends planning for sustainable food systems with attention to production, processing, packaging, distribution, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food.
One of the co-authors, Dr. Tim Takaro, a Professor of Health Sciences at SFU, warns climate change poses “direct, indirect, and intersecting threats to human health” which will worsen existing health and social inequalities.
He says climate change “is a risk multiplier” and people stressed by “low income, inaccessibility to healthy foods, water, some of the very basics, and clean air” will face even greater stress.
Dr. Takaro says the pandemic brought a lot of things into focus concerning climate change, including how it will enhance the possibility of future pandemics.
He explains that animal populations are stressed by habitat losses and extinctions, leading to diminished immune systems making them more susceptible to the evolution of zoonotic diseases like Covid-Sars-2.
However, Dr. Takaro also says there is the government response to consider.
He notes that usually, “there is virtually no money ever for prevention in our budgets,” and they're “happy when as little as five percent of the total budget” is devoted to prevention.
Takaro says that COVID-19 showed there is money; there simply needs to be political will.
Another area of concern is the need for additional resilience in community water systems.
Takaro participated in a study for Health Canada that included a look at three Metro Vancouver water reservoirs and says “extreme rain events, that we certainly experienced this past winter, are a risk for gastrointestinal illness,” and even urban areas with high-quality water systems are not immune.
“When it rains really hard, especially after a dry period, people get waterborne illness.”
Takaro says small rural, isolated, and Indigenous communities are at particular risk as their water systems may not be state of the art.
Air quality is another concern and Takaro says the report underscores an urgent need for dramatic greenhouse gas reductions.
He warns the province cannot support more infrastructure to burn fossil fuels while saying it’s committed to transitioning to green energy.
“They are pretending that CleanBC and expanding liquid natural gas industry are consistent, and you can’t build a whole new infrastructure to burn fossil fuel in the future.”
Takaro notes that among the heat-related deaths that occurred in June, most were in marginalized populations.
He warns the hundreds of heat deaths BC experienced during the 2021 heat dome are only the beginning.
Federal and provincial governments continue to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, which he says is mortgaging the well-being of future generations.
“I really wish all of the future generations could be here with us now to speak their truth and for us to understand the profound impact our behaviour today will have on those future generations.”
The PICS study found COVID-19 demonstrated how profound and complex threats to human health can be and how interconnected we are with the environment we live in. Human life will be affected by climate change, and the strain on human and ecological systems will be much greater than those of a single infectious disease.
As we destroy virgin forests, animals may seek food and living space closer to our communities creating greater opportunities for viruses to be transmitted to us. Rising temperatures are now bringing vector-borne diseases to more northerly latitudes.
We are in a partnership with the other inhabitants of our landscapes and by breaking the rules of the game we face consequences for our health and well-being.