Factsheet: Engaging in Climate Change Solutions as Health Professionals

This factsheet from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) outlines how health professionals can leverage their credibility as trusted messengers to influence public behavior and policy-making regarding climate change, focusing on GHG emission reduction and adaptation programs.

• Health professionals are positioned as effective messengers for climate change action because they are viewed as trusted and credible, and because framing climate change through the lens of health is an effective way to drive behavioral change among Canadians.
• Health professionals can engage patients and the public by educating them on protecting families from climate-related health risks—including power outages from extreme storms, wildfire smoke, heat waves, and diseases such as Lyme’s disease and West Nile virus—and by encouraging healthy behavioral changes.
• Strategies for engaging peers include publishing in peer-reviewed journals, presenting at student workshops, health-related conferences, and Grand Rounds, as well as integrating the ecological determinants of health and climate change into college and university curricula.
• Community-level action for health professionals involves engaging decision-makers via meetings, emails, and formal submissions, collaborating with complementary organizations, and advocating for divestment from fossil fuels within professional associations and universities.
• CAPE supports health professionals through a national organization structure that includes four regional volunteer committees located in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and BC, which provide mentorship and peer support for those engaging in environmental health issues.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (n.d.). Factsheet: Engaging in Climate Change Solutions as Health Professionals. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-8-FACTSHEET-READY-TO-UPLOAD.pdf#new_tab

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Factsheet: Engaging in Climate Change Solutions as Health Professionals. n.d. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-8-FACTSHEET-READY-TO-UPLOAD.pdf#new_tab.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Factsheet: Engaging in Climate Change Solutions as Health Professionals |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-8-FACTSHEET-READY-TO-UPLOAD.pdf#new_tab |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironmentndfactsheet, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Factsheet: Engaging in Climate Change Solutions as Health Professionals}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-8-FACTSHEET-READY-TO-UPLOAD.pdf#new_tab}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }