Program on Climate and Health
The Program on Climate and Health at BUSPH fosters collaboration to improve health and climate change outcomes for the future of our economy and the planet.
Climate change and our health
Climate change poses one of the biggest threats to our health and wellbeing, today and for generations to come. Extreme weather events, from massive wildfires, tremendous flooding, and smog encased cities, are becoming more frequent and/or more severe than ever before. The Program on Climate and Health at BUSPH leads research that gives communities, governments, corporations, and individuals the information they need to make data-driven and evidence-based decisions to better prepare for climate impacts and to create more sustainable and resilient communities.
Launched in January 2020, the Program on Climate and Health at BUSPH aims to foster greater collaboration in research, training, and translation. The Program is led by Dr. Gregory Wellenius and includes expert faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate-level students from across BU who are passionate about understanding and minimizing the impacts of continued climate change on the health of people and communities. Climate change affects us all, and idea hub works to facilitate partnerships to find solutions.
Health Impacts
- Quantifying the health impacts of heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires, air pollution, and other climate hazards—now and into the future
- Providing evidence needed to support adaptive measures
- Identifying individuals and populations at greatest risk
Contextual Factors
- Understanding the role of healthy housing in climate change adaptation and resilience
- Assessing how access to green space and the built environment impacts our vulnerability to climate hazards
Better Health
- Demonstrating the health and economic benefits of individual actions and local interventions
- Estimating the immediate health benefits of long-term climate change mitigation policies
Opportunities for collaboration
Interested in working with us to alleviate the health effects of climate change, but not sure how? See below for ideas on potential new projects
- understanding the impacts of climate change on mental health: BUSPH researchers have a proposal to leverage big data from OptumLabs(TM) to understand the impacts of heat waves, wildfires, and hurricanes on the mental health of adults and children, to begin to build communities that are more resilient to climate effects, now and into the future.
- health impacts of air pollution from wild and agricultural fires: BUSPH faculty are ready to launch the first large-scale study in the US to quantify the impacts of fire smoke on the health of individuals across the lifespan, from pregnancy and infancy to end of life.
- tailored training: BUSPH can work with your company to provide tailored training on how to better protect the health of your workforce through ensuring healthy indoor spaces, disaster preparedness, and others.
Want to learn more about these opportunities
or have other ideas?
Want to improve the health of your company’s workforce?
Learn how investing in climate change resilience and preparation can better prepare your company for the future.
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