A Global Review of Research on Effective Advocacy and Communication Strategies at the Intersection of Climate Change and Health

The report analyzes how different audiences perceive the intersection of climate change and health and evaluates the effectiveness of various communication frames. It finds that framing climate change as a public health issue, particularly by emphasizing the health benefits of solutions (gain framing) and the harms of air pollution, can increase public engagement and reduce political polarization. The document highlights health professionals as highly trusted messengers who are generally willing to engage in advocacy but face barriers such as lack of time and specialized knowledge. It also notes that public officials exhibit varying levels of awareness and face institutional barriers to prioritizing climate-health issues. The report concludes with a research agenda calling for more diverse geographic data, better integration of equity in messaging, and the expansion of climate-health curricula in medical education.

• Framing climate change as a public health issue is generally more effective at increasing public engagement and support for pro-climate policies than environmental or economic frames, and it can help reduce political polarization by resonating across the political spectrum.
• Communication that emphasizes the health benefits of taking action (gain frame) is typically more effective at building policy support and evoking hope than communication focusing on health risks (loss frame).
• Information regarding the neurological harms to children caused by air pollution from fossil fuel combustion is particularly effective at engaging Americans across different political party lines.
• Health professionals, especially doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, are viewed as highly trusted sources of information globally, and this trust extends to their communication about global warming, even among conservative groups.
• While many health professionals recognize that climate change harms human health and express a professional responsibility to act, they often lack detailed knowledge and face barriers such as time constraints, lack of resources, and fear of damaging professional relationships.
• Public officials' understanding of climate-related health threats varies significantly, and many in the USA do not view climate change as a top priority for their departments due to a lack of legal mandates, funding, and leadership.
• Visual communication that depicts climate impacts increases the perceived importance of the issue, while imagery of solutions enhances self-efficacy; specifically, images of air pollution are more effective than those of floods or heat stress in generating both concern and self-efficacy in the UK.
• There is a significant gap in medical education regarding climate change and health, with only 15% of medical schools in a global study of 112 countries including the topic in their curricula, despite high interest from students.
• Research on communicating the disproportionate health impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations is limited, and such messaging can potentially increase engagement or, conversely, undermine support among less vulnerable audiences.

APA

Uppalapati, S., Ansah, P., Campbell, E., Gour, N., Thier, K., Kotcher, J., & Maibach, E. (2023). A Global Review of Research on Effective Advocacy and Communication Strategies at the Intersection of Climate Change and Health. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Climate-and-Health-Literature-Review-Final.pdf

Chicago

Uppalapati, S., P. Ansah, E. Campbell, N. Gour, K. Thier, J. Kotcher, and E. Maibach. A Global Review of Research on Effective Advocacy and Communication Strategies at the Intersection of Climate Change and Health. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2023. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Climate-and-Health-Literature-Review-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{uppalapati2023global, author = {Uppalapati, S. and Ansah, P. and Campbell, E. and Gour, N. and Thier, K. and Kotcher, J. and Maibach, E.}, title = {{A Global Review of Research on Effective Advocacy and Communication Strategies at the Intersection of Climate Change and Health}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Climate-and-Health-Literature-Review-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }