Integrating Climate Considerations Into Practice
Climate change represents a defining health challenge of our era, with profound mental health consequences. As future physicians, you will care for patients experiencing the full spectrum of climate-related psychological impacts. Be able to Explain mental health consequences Climate disasters produce: PTSD. Depression. Anxiety. Chronic stress. Eco-anxiety and solastalgia represent new forms of climate-related distress. […]
Knowledge Check
These questions are for self-study only. Answers will not be evaluated or saved. Apply your knowledge of climate justice and clinical interventions. Question 1 An undocumented farmworker presents with anxiety and depression following crop failures from drought. Which factors create intersecting vulnerabilities for this patient’s mental health? (Select all that apply) Explanation This patient exemplifies […]
Physician-led Interventions and Community Resilience
We can’t treat patients’ asthma from wildfire smoke and ignore the anxiety that comes with watching their world change. Integrated care means addressing both. Physicians play crucial roles at multiple levels: Providing clinical care. Integrating mental health into disaster response. Promoting community resilience. Individual clinical interventions Validated screening tools PHQ-9: Depression screening GAD-7: Generalized anxiety […]
Surveillance and Monitoring
Effective public health response requires surveillance systems to track trends, identify vulnerable populations, allocate resources, and evaluate interventions. Why surveillance matters Climate-related mental health surveillance serves several critical functions: Early detection of emerging mental health crises before they become severe. Resource allocation to direct services where they’re most needed. Identification of vulnerable populations requiring targeted […]
Inequitable Burden of Climate-Related Mental Health Impacts
Those who have contributed least to climate change often suffer the most. This is a profound injustice we must address. Climate change does not affect all populations equally. The mental health consequences are profoundly shaped by existing social, economic, and environmental inequities. The climate justice framework Understanding differential vulnerability Mental health disparities emerge from multiple […]
Mental Health Consequences of Climate Change
Climate change affects mental health through multiple pathways, producing a spectrum of psychological responses ranging from acute trauma to chronic existential distress. Acute mental health impacts: Trauma and stress disorders Extreme weather events—hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and heat waves—can produce immediate and severe psychological trauma. Research Evidence Systematic reviews of disaster mental health literature consistently document […]
Current Events
All Mental Health Vector Borne Disease Heat Impact Extreme Weather Water/Food Borne Illness Degraded Air Quality The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Mental and Physical Health of Low-Income Parents in New Orleans 9/11/2025 “Long-term health and mental health services are needed for low-income disaster survivors, especially those who experience disaster-related stressors and loss.” The […]
Degraded Air Quality
These materials are based on the PowerPoint presentation by Anthony Gerber, MD, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, National Jewish Hospital. What you’ll learn Discover the climate change effects of ozone, PM2.5, and other ambient respiratory irritants on respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular, and allergic diseases. Analyze data […]
Climate Change and Heat Impacts
Mini Lesson: Extreme Heat In this mini lesson, you’ll find: Case studies. Definitions. Review questions. Go to the Mini Lesson: Extreme Heat. Local Government Response to the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome https://youtu.be/VUu53Bt7PwE (approximately 25 minutes—you can stop watching at 58 min.) Direct and indirect health impacts of extreme heat Source: Scale and nature of […]
Extreme Weather Hazards
These materials are based on the PowerPoint presentation by Jesse Bell, PhD: Claire M. Hubbard, Professor of Water, Climate, and Health, Director of the Water, Climate, and Health Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Links between Climate and Health Hippocrates Dr. James Tilton Hippocrates Hippocrates wrote about epidemics in 400 B.C.E. and noted the change […]