Coordinate with health care institutions on health data monitoring systems and tools to evaluate and improve understanding of the potential correlations between emerging and reemerging health conditions, illnesses and diseases, and climate change stressors. Ensure health care professionals are trained on climate-related health impacts.

STRATEGIES

PH-5.1 Identify the health conditions, illnesses and diseases exacerbated or spread by climate change either directly or indirectly from impacts on air quality, water quality, reduced drainage capacity, and increasing heat and humidity. Identify health data that is currently collected serving as indicators of emerging diseases associated with climate change impacts, and current health data gaps that would support the monitoring of climate change health impacts.

PH-5.2 Partner with public health experts from the Florida Department of Health, Environmental Health Departments, health care institutions and academic institutions to create a subject matter expert group to advance health mitigation interventions and monitoring of identified indicators of health risks to ensure timely responses.

PH-5.3 Include climate-related health impact education in professional curriculums, including but not limited to high school and vocational school, medical education/continuing medical education, and medical conferences.

PH-5.4 Evaluate regional assessment tools that tie climate projections to potential future public health risks in order to determine their feasibility. Develop new tools as needed.

PH-5.5 Identify and address gaps in current data collection and reporting practices (both granular and geographic) to improve health outcome projections regarding the exacerbating effects climate change has on health risks, including:

• Direct impacts: extreme heat, air pollution, extreme weather
• Spread of insect- and vector-borne diseases
• Disruption of water and food supplies, including contaminated water and food, hunger and malnutrition
• Disruption of emotional wellbeing and emotional stress

PH-5.6 Invest in data collection and reporting to fill critical gaps about the exacerbating effects climate change has on existing health risks.