about the risks children face, including negative mental health outcomes as a result of air pollution exposure. 3.Community Resilience Building: Many environmental health professionals work in local communities. As a member of your community, you can support com- munity resilience by ensuring that local disaster preparedness plans are in place that take climate risks into account. Advocate for young people in your area so that their voices are heard and their perspectives are included in the plans. Making sure that all communities are equipped for climate-related emergencies might include, for example, designating buildings as cooling stations during heat waves or advocating for increased access to green space. Listening to the voices of young people, particularly from under- represented groups and communities of color, will strengthen the final action plan with their perspectives. Climate for Health (2021a) has put together a Climate Solutions for Your Community resource document that may help. 4. Support Parents: Supporting parents is criti- cal in the time of climate change because the well-being of children can be influenced by not only their experiences but also the expe- riences of others around them, especially their caretakers. Parents and caregivers often struggle to regain their own emotional sta- bility after extreme events, which impacts their ability to o er support to their chil- dren (Zacher et al., 2022). Including parents and caregivers in resilience and preparation e orts can help identify their needs and link them with supportive resources. 5.Policy and Systems Change: You can edu- cate policymakers and push for better cli- mate change and mental health policies at community, state, and federal levels. One resource that may help you get started is Climate Solutions: Advocacy With Pol- icy Makers (Climate for Health, 2021b). Also, look for ways to support young people as they advocate for change. There have been impressive actions presented by young people, such as the U.S. House of Representatives resolution that was authored by Schools for Climate Action and promotes youth mental health (Pro- moting Youth Mental Health, 2023). The voice of environmental health profession-
als matters and can help young leaders make lasting change. 6. Research: The field of children’s men- tal health and climate change is grow- ing. Additional research on the impacts, as well as on e ective interventions and solutions, is necessary to continue guid- ing community leaders, policymakers, parents, health professionals, and educa- tors in the right direction. The ecoAmer- ica (2023) report, Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report 2023, summarizes much of the current research. More research on impacts and e ective responses can help families and health professionals to sup- port children in a changing climate. While we have presented some ways that environmental health professionals can get involved in protecting and advocating for the mental health of children, this list is not exhaustive. There is a plethora of actions that environmental professionals can take. You are likely already taking some actions to increase community resilience or to mitigate climate impacts in your personal and professional lives (Climate for Health, 2021c, 2021d). Look for ways to connect colleagues, family, and neighbors with this work (Climate for Health, 2021a), espe- cially in the context of protecting children’s health. The library of resources to help peo- ple get involved is growing and your voice as an environmental health professional can make a di erence. Corresponding Author: Nicole Hill, Research and Marketing Manager, ecoAmerica, 1730 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Suite 200, Wash- ington, DC 20036. Email: nicoleh@ecoamerica.org. References American Public Health Association. (2020). Climate and health youth education toolkit . https://apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/topics/ climate/Climate_and_Health_Youth_Edu cation_Toolkit.ashx Clayton, S., Manning, C., Speiser, M., & Hill, A.N. (2021). Mental health and our chang- ing climate: Impacts, inequities, responses . American Psychological Association, Cli- mate for Health, and ecoAmerica. https:// www.apa.org/news/press/releases/mental- health-climate-change.pdf
Climate for Health. (n.d.). Climate for Health Ambassador training . https://climatefor health.org/ambassadors-training/ Climate for Health. (2021a). Climate solu- tions for your community . ecoAmerica. https://climateforhealth.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/06/Climate-Solutions-Your- Community-CfH.pdf Climate for Health. (2021b). Climate solutions: Advocacy with policy makers . ecoAmerica. https://climateforhealth.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/06/Advocacy-Policy-Mak ers-Climate-Solutions-CfH.pdf Climate for Health. (2021c). Climate solutions for your home and neighborhood. ecoAmerica. https://climateforhealth.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/06/Home-Neighborhood- Climate-Solutions-Cfh.pdf Climate for Health. (2021d). Climate solutions for your workplace . ecoAmerica. https:// climateforhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/06/Workplace-Climate-Solutions- CfH.pdf ecoAmerica. (2023). Mental health and our changing climate: Children and youth report 2023 . https://ecoamerica.org/mental-health- and-our-changing-climate-children-and- youth-report/ Freedman, A. (2023, July 20). The 15 hot- test days, in the world’s hottest month. Axios . https://www.axios.com/2023/07/20/ world-heat-wave-records-us-europe-china Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2023). Climate change 2023 synthesis report: Summary for policymakers . https:// www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/ report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf Latham, R.M., Kieling, C., Arseneault, L., Botter-Maio Rocha, T., Beddows, A., Beev- ers, S.D., Danese, A., De Oliveira, K., Kohrt, B.A., Mo¤tt, T.E., Mondelli, V., Newbury, J.B., Reuben, A., & Fisher, H.L. (2021). Childhood exposure to ambient air pol- lution and predicting individual risk of depression onset in UK adolescents. Journal of Psychiatric Research , 138 , 60–67. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.03.042 Lu, J.G. (2020). Air pollution: A systematic review of its psychological, economic, and social e ects. Current Opinion in Psychol- ogy , 32 , 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. copsyc.2019.06.024 Nomura, Y., Newcorn, J.H., Ginalis, C., Heitz, C., Zaki, J., Khan, F., Nasrin, M., Sie, K., continued on page 26
41
October 2023 • Journal of Environmental Health
Powered by FlippingBook