Preparing for the public health challenges of climate change

The report identifies significant gaps in expertise, funding, and priority within the U.S. public health system regarding climate change. While most local health directors recognize climate change as a threat, few prioritize it in their departmental planning. The authors recommend a three-pronged approach: protecting public health through system efficacy, preventing dangers by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing health through 'win-win' policy alignment.

• A majority of surveyed local health department directors recognize climate change as a current and future threat to their jurisdictions, with nearly 70% believing their area experienced climate change in the last 20 years and 78% expecting it in the next 20 years.
• Despite recognizing the risks, climate change is rarely a top priority for local health departments; only 19% of respondents placed it in their top ten priorities, and only 6% in their top five.
• There is a widespread lack of perceived expertise at the local level for managing climate risks, with 77% of directors feeling they lack the expertise to assess local health impacts and 83% lacking the expertise to create adaptation plans.
• Local health directors perceive a lack of support and expertise from higher-level agencies, with only 26% believing their state had the expertise to assist with adaptation plans and only 34% believing the CDC possessed such expertise.
• A significant majority of health directors (77%) report lacking the necessary resources to address climate-related health threats, most frequently citing a need for additional funding and staff.
• While most departments have programs for water- and foodborne diseases (97%) and vectorborne diseases (95%), few have programs explicitly designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as helping residents reduce emissions (5%) or conserve energy (6%).
• The report argues that the U.S. public health system is generally underfunded and overburdened, noting that state and local public health spending was less than 2.32% of all U.S. health spending in 2005.

APA

Balbus, J., Ebi, K., Finzer, L., Malina, C., Chadwick, A., McBride, D., Chuk, M., & Maibach, E. (n.d.). Preparing for the public health challenges of climate change. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2008-Preparing-for-the-public-health-challenges-of-climate-change.pdf

Chicago

Balbus, John, Kristie Ebi, Lauren Finzer, Catherine Malina, Amy Chadwick, Dennis McBride, Michelle Chuk, and Ed Maibach. Preparing for the public health challenges of climate change. Center for Climate Change Communication, n.d. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2008-Preparing-for-the-public-health-challenges-of-climate-change.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Balbus |first1=John |last2=Ebi |first2=Kristie |last3=Finzer |first3=Lauren |last4=Malina |first4=Catherine |last5=Chadwick |first5=Amy |last6=McBride |first6=Dennis |last7=Chuk |first7=Michelle |last8=Maibach |first8=Ed |title=Preparing for the public health challenges of climate change |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2008-Preparing-for-the-public-health-challenges-of-climate-change.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{balbusndpreparing, author = {Balbus, John and Ebi, Kristie and Finzer, Lauren and Malina, Catherine and Chadwick, Amy and McBride, Dennis and Chuk, Michelle and Maibach, Ed}, title = {{Preparing for the public health challenges of climate change}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2008-Preparing-for-the-public-health-challenges-of-climate-change.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }