Public Health Laws and Policies
This tab includes strategies for how to avoid or reduce climate change impacts in the public health sector. It also includes any laws, legislation, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to public health.
Resources are automatically presented by rating, but can be sorted by date or title. Apply additional filters to narrow by resource type, state, region, impact, or jurisdictional focus.
23 results are shown below.
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Resource
April 2016
In 2016, when the risk of Zika virus in the United States became higher, the mayor of New Orleans brought together public and private partners to proactively manage those risks and protect the city’s most vulnerable residents. By activating the local public health department, the Board of mosquito control, local physicians, environmental experts, and community members, the government was able to create a comprehensive Zika response plan to protect the public, especially pregnant women. In the first phase, partners educated the public on risks and mitigation strategies, especially healthcare providers and facilities. The city also stepped up vector control to reduce risk and surveillance of mosquito populations to ensure effectiveness. This combination of efforts was intended to ensure that Phases 2 and 3 of the Plan (activated in the case of reported cases of Zika) would be delayed or unnecessary due to preventive measures. By focusing education efforts for the public and healthcare entities on the risk to the most vulnerable subgroup of residents, the partners could ensure that pregnant women would be well-protected. The efforts were funded by general public health funding streams.
Resource Category: Planning
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December 2015
The Hawaiʻi Climate Change and Health Working Group was initially convened in 2015 to help the State consider and plan for the impacts of climate change on population-based human health and well-being. The Working Group has developed some preliminary findings and recommendations for policy maker consideration, which are provided in this report.
Resource Category: Planning
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Resource
2015
The Rhode Island Department of Health’s Climate Change and Health Resiliency Report identifies the climate change impacts on public health in Rhode Island, and offers strategies that can strengthen the effectiveness of public health management for climate impacts in the state. The report describes the threats that climate change poses to the state and its vulnerable populations, and details ongoing and planned best practices to counter these threats and protect vulnerable groups. The Department of Health Climate Change Program (HEALTH) has implemented climate adaptation projects that are highlighted throughout the report, along with Rhode Island case studies, and examples of best practices from across the country.
Resource Category: Assessments
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August 31, 2015
This paper from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law addresses how increased temperatures and heat waves caused by climate change affect prisons, jails, and their staff and inmate populations. Recommendations are offered for what correctional departments can do to prepare for greater heat and minimize the dangers it poses.
Resource Category: Assessments
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March 2015
This report explores the ways in which climate change, health, and equity are connected, and identifies many opportunities and recommendations for climate adaptation in the public health sector. From the Public Health Institute (PHI), the report analyzes the relationships between the social determinants of health, health inequities, and climate impacts - with an eye on how vulnerable populations overall are facing greater exposure. A number of examples are given of successful projects in which communities and public health organizations are taking action on climate change, health solutions, and social equity.
Resource Category: Solutions
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December 15, 2014
Primary Care: Enhancing Health Care Resilience for a Changing Climate, from the U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), assesses the current climate and weather related risks for health care infrastructure, and proposes some best practices for building resilience to climate change. The HHS climate resilience guide is intended to address a wide range of health care facility vulnerabilities. It spans risks related to buildings, utilities and infrastructure, including IT infrastructure, supply chain issues, the needs of staff, and the role of the healthcare facility in the broader community.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2014
To build the capacity of local health departments, the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) Built Environment Committee (BEC) developed five short (2 page) Climate Change Quick Guides that summarize the intersections between and importance of action on climate change, public health and equity. The guides help readers understand how climate change will affect public health, the environmental and public health benefits of climate change actions, how public health departments can participate in climate action planning, and action items that public health departments can take to support climate adaptation efforts at all levels of government.
Resource Category: Education and Outreach
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2013
The Michigan Department of Community Health has developed the Michigan Climate and Health Adaptation Program (MICHAP) to prepare for health risks from climate change. Through support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MICHAP is building a climate-resilient public health system for Michigan at the state, local health department, and community levels.
Resource Category: Solutions
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April 22, 2010
This report identifies major research needs to better address the human health impacts of climate change. Prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health, and with contribution by numerous federal agencies, the goal is to better inform federal agencies with a human health or related research mission in their research priorities.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Christopher J. Portier, Kimberly Thigpen Tart
Resource Category: Assessments
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April 1, 2010
Public Health Law and Policy, a non-profit organization focused on building healthy communities in the U. S. , gathered a diverse group of more than 150 participants for a multi-disciplinary exchange of ideas and strategies with the goal of better engaging public health networks and agencies in climate change work. This Action Plan presents a synthesis of those recommendations and priorities. Although developed for the state of California's public health system, the recommendations are largely applicable to any state.
Resource Category: Solutions
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