Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, and Health Inequities: The Underlying Role of Structural Inequalities

Smith, Gordon S.; Anjum, Erica; Francis, Christina K.; Deanes, Lauren; Acey, Charisma

doi:10.1007/s40572-022-00336-w

Cited by 76 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Children with chronic illness are at higher risk for negative outcomes after disasters [9] , and environmental disasters can cause major health impacts and worsen structural disparities [10] . We had a lower response rate to our survey from Spanish-speaking families compared to English-speaking families despite providing language-concordant surveys and sending out links to the survey via text messages to avoid phone calls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the 2021 north american winter storms on children with epilepsy

Robles-Lopez

Barar

Julich

2023

Epilepsy & Behavior Reports

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the 2021 north american winter storms on children with epilepsy

Robles-Lopez

Barar

Julich

2023

Epilepsy & Behavior Reports

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“…Nevertheless, while improvement of measurement accuracy through increased station density may serve to provide meteorologists, climatologists, and epidemiologists with better tools to measure and study community-level effects of climate change and extreme weather, it is imperative that such improvements meet community-identified needs. Indeed, the most important first step to addressing racial inequity in climatebased threats to health is to work with affected and vulnerable communities to define what is measured, what is not measured but needs to be measured, and how to gauge success or failure (77). PRISM precipitation data previously have been validated against ground station observations, and they have generally been found to have good agreement with precipitation measurements made at ground stations with low absolute error and minimal regional biases (23,(78)(79)(80).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agreement in extreme precipitation exposure assessment is modified by race and social vulnerability

Aune

Zaitchik²,

Curriero³

et al. 2023

Front. Epidemiol.

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Epidemiologic investigations of extreme precipitation events (EPEs) often rely on observations from the nearest weather station to represent individuals' exposures, and due to structural factors that determine the siting of weather stations, levels of measurement error and misclassification bias may differ by race, class, and other measures of social vulnerability. Gridded climate datasets provide higher spatial resolution that may improve measurement error and misclassification bias. However, similarities in the ability to identify EPEs among these types of datasets have not been explored. In this study, we characterize the overall and temporal patterns of agreement among three commonly used meteorological data sources in their identification of EPEs in all census tracts and counties in the conterminous United States over the 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals period and evaluate the association between sociodemographic characteristics with agreement in EPE identification. Daily precipitation measurements from weather stations in the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) and gridded precipitation estimates from the Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) and the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) were compared in their ability to identify EPEs defined as the top 1% of precipitation events or daily precipitation >1 inch. Agreement among these datasets is fair to moderate from 1991 to 2020. There are spatial and temporal differences in the levels of agreement between ground stations and gridded climate datasets in their detection of EPEs in the United States from 1991 to 2020. Spatial variation in agreement is most strongly related to a location's proximity to the nearest ground station, with areas furthest from a ground station demonstrating the lowest levels of agreement. These areas have lower socioeconomic status, a higher proportion of Native American population, and higher social vulnerability index scores. The addition of ground stations in these areas may increase agreement, and future studies intending to use these or similar data sources should be aware of the limitations, biases, and potential for differential misclassification of exposure to EPEs. Most importantly, vulnerable populations should be engaged to determine their priorities for enhanced surveillance of climate-based threats so that community-identified needs are met by any future improvements in data quality.

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“…To prevent the occurrence of these adverse impacts, increased attention has been devoted to reducing social and environmental vulnerability [ 3 , 26 , 27 ] and to building, supporting, and sustaining individual and community resilience [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Resilience is the ability of an individual or community to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform, and recover from the effects of persistent stress or a disruptive event in a timely and efficient manner [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerable, Resilient, or Both? A Qualitative Study of Adaptation Resources and Behaviors to Heat Waves and Health Outcomes of Low-Income Residents of Urban Heat Islands

Palinkas

Hurlburt

Fernandez

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Little is known of how low-income residents of urban heat islands engage their knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and resources to mitigate the health impacts of heat waves. In this qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 adults in two such neighborhoods in Los Angeles California to explore their adaptation resources and behaviors, the impacts of heat waves on physical and mental health, and threat assessments of future heat waves. Eighty percent of participants received advanced warning of heat waves from television news and social media. The most common resource was air conditioning (AC) units or fans. However, one-third of participants lacked AC, and many of those with AC engaged in limited use due primarily to the high cost of electricity. Adaptation behaviors include staying hydrated, remaining indoors or going to cooler locations, reducing energy usage, and consuming certain foods and drinks. Most of the participants reported some physical or mental health problem or symptom during heat waves, suggesting vulnerability to heat waves. Almost all participants asserted that heat waves were likely to increase in frequency and intensity with adverse health effects for vulnerable populations. Despite limited resources, low-income residents of urban heat islands utilize a wide range of behaviors to minimize the severity of health impacts, suggesting they are both vulnerable and resilient to heat waves.

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Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, and Health Inequities: The Underlying Role of Structural Inequalities

Cited by 76 publications

References 62 publications

Impact of the 2021 north american winter storms on children with epilepsy

Impact of the 2021 north american winter storms on children with epilepsy

Agreement in extreme precipitation exposure assessment is modified by race and social vulnerability

Vulnerable, Resilient, or Both? A Qualitative Study of Adaptation Resources and Behaviors to Heat Waves and Health Outcomes of Low-Income Residents of Urban Heat Islands

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