>> Welcome back to our video series
on evaluating health adaptation for a changing climate.
In this video, we introduce three real world health adaptation scenarios that will be used
to illustrate evaluation best practices for the rest of our series.
Let's meet our three practitioners who are evaluating health adaptations.
Cassandra is a program manager who works in her city health department's environmental division.
Elaine is an epidemiologist working in her state health department's climate and health program.
Jackson is a health educator who works
in his county health department's emergency preparedness program.
Cassandra is evaluating a new climate adaptation to address flooding events in her city.
These flooding events routinely overwhelming the city's sewer system,
causing it to release untreated water into a nearby lake.
Residents use this lake for both recreation and drinking water.
City officials believe the flooding is causing an uptick in reported waterborne disease.
So absorb the excess rainwater, city officials are piloting modifications
to sewage management using greening techniques that include the addition of rain gardens.
Officials expect to see a reduction in waterborne disease and have charged Cassandra
with evaluating the impact on health.
Meanwhile, at the state level, Elaine is evaluating a health adaptation
for wildfire preparedness across her state.
In the past decade, wildfires have become more frequent, larger, and longer lasting,
leading to increases in respiratory disease.
For the past three years, the state has implemented a program
to reduce respiratory illnesses.
Through a multi tiered approach, the state, climate, and health program works with counties
to provide outreach and training to increase protective knowledge and behaviors
in at risk communities and to improve access to respirators and in home filters.
However, during recent wildfire seasons, news outlets reported on several problems.
Some residents didn't evacuate in a timely manner.
Others didn't know when it was safe to go outside.
And still others were unaware of how to protect the air inside their homes.
Consequently, the leadership in her state mandated
that wildfire preparedness programs be evaluated so they can learn what works and what doesn't
and make improvements across the state.
Now, we'll head over to the county health department,
where Jackson co leads a working group of clinicians and non profit partners interested
in protecting the public's health from extreme heat.
In recent years, extreme heat events have led to an increase in heat related hospitalizations,
60% of which are comprised of low income adults aged 65 and older.
Those who were hospitalized often lacked proper air conditioning,
or couldn't afford to run it during the hot months.
Together with his working group, Jackson added a new module to an existing training program
for home health aides, whose clients include low income and aging residents.
This module is designed to increase the home health aid's knowledge and skills on how
to better protect clients during extreme heat events.
Jackson expects his evaluation will provide information
to help leverage existing relationships between home health aides and their aging clients
to reduce heat related hospitalizations.
We will be following Cassandra, Elaine,
and Jackson's evaluation journeys for the rest of the series.
In the following video, engaging stakeholders, our three practitioners will begin identifying
and involving stakeholders as they embark on their evaluation planning process
for their respective health adaptation actions.
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