How Climate Affects Community Health
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Provided by: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|Published on: May 30, 2023
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Synopsis
- This video describes the health effects and risk factors related to a changing climate such as heat-related illnesses, disease outbreaks from pests, poor air quality, and extreme weather events.
- The video describes how certain populations can be at greater risk such as the young, elderly, lower-income populations, outdoor workers, and pregnant individuals.
- There are actions that communities can take to mitigate or adapt to these threats including cooling centers, community outreach, and public health alerts.
Subjects: Social Studies, Biology, Health
Authors: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Region: North America, United States, Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This video is very informative and concisely summarizes how climate change can impact individuals' health in multiple ways.
- The video describes how health departments are identifying individuals at risk, quantifying health problems, developing community health supports, and evaluating the effectiveness of community health programs.
- The video graphics are engaging and illustrative of the climate health risks to help drive home the information presented in the video.
- The video touches on mental health and climate justice topics related to the uneven distribution of climate change burdens on vulnerable populations and disenfranchised communities.
Additional Prerequisites
- Students should be familiar with heat-related health effects.
- Students should understand how climate change is leading to increased extreme weather events.
Differentiation
- Before watching the video ask students, "How might climate change impact your health?"
- For an interdisciplinary assignment with environmental science and health, have students review data related to air pollution, asthma, temperature, and heat-related deaths.
- Have students raise their hands or "turn and talk" about if they know anyone who has been affected by asthma, air pollution, heat stress, or extreme weather.
- Science classes can use this video as a hook for lessons about homeostasis, hydrogen bonds (related to evaporative cooling from sweat or transpiration from trees), allergies, diseases, or parasites.
This video resource from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) focuses on the health consequences of a changing climate. Clear narration and colorful graphics work together to describe how extreme weather, poor air quality, and disease are growing risks due to a warming Earth, and at-risk groups are highlighted for each. The resource thoroughly describes the impacts of a warming climate on both physical and mental health, but never really discusses climate change and the science behind it, so this resource is likely best suited to a class that has already been introduced to the basics of climate change. CDC’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) Framework is presented as tool to aid local health departments in responding to the health effects of climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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