Public Health Aspects of Climate Change Adaptation in Three Cities: A Qualitative StudyShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 19, no 16, article id 10292
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Climate change presents an unprecedented public health challenge as it has a great impact on population health outcomes across the global population. The key to addressing these health challenges is adaptation carried out in cities through collaboration between institutions, including public health ones. Through semi-structured interviews (n=16), this study investigated experiences and perceptions of what public health aspects are considered by urban and public health planners and researchers when planning climate change adaptation in the cities of Söderhamn (Sweden), Porto (Portugal) and Navotas (the Philippines). Results of the thematic analysis indicated that participating stakeholders were aware of the main climate risks threatening their cities (rising water levels and flooding, extreme temperatures, and air pollution). In addition, the interviewees talked about collaboration with other sectors, including the public health sector, in implementing climate change adaptation plans. However, the inclusion of the public health sector as a partner in the process was identified in only two cities, Navotas and Porto. Also, the study found that there were few aspects pertaining to public health (water and sanitation, prevention of heat-related and water-borne diseases, and prevention of the consequences associated with heat waves in vulnerable groups such as children and elderly persons) in the latest climate change adaptation plans posted on each city’s website. Moreover, participants pointed to different difficulties: insufficient financial resources, limited intersectoral collaboration for climate change adaptation, and lack of involvement of the public health sector in the adaptation processes, especially in one of the cities, in which climate change adaptation was solely the responsibility of the urban planners. Studies using larger samples of stakeholders in larger cities are needed to better understand why the public health sector is still almost absent in efforts to adapt to climate change.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI , 2022. Vol. 19, no 16, article id 10292
Keywords [en]
climate change adaptation; public health; Söderhamn; Porto; Navotas
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-39703DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191610292ISI: 000845801800001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85137126760OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-39703DiVA, id: diva2:1688171
2022-08-172022-08-172022-09-15Bibliographically approved