Climate Change and Prevention

What has climate change to do with prevention? As we look at our Etiology Model, which identifies the primary influences over people’s health and development, we can see how the dramatic changes wrought by the extremes of weather and potential long-term climate effects can significantly impact populations. We know that the Etiology Model looks at how the physical, social and economic factors in the macro-environment can impact on health and behavior. Cognizant of these factors, we recently added a new element to our Implementation Cycle planning model called Community Context which points to the importance of the physical setting as the back-drop for our work. As prevention professionals we can incorporate climate concerns into some of our collaborative planning with communities who are struggling to address this looming problem.

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