Climate Change

Background: The United States is experiencing increasing temperatures and heatwaves due to anthropogenic climate change. Days of extreme heat lead to higher rates of morbidity and mortality and place greater demand on healthcare systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared an international public health emergency on 30 January 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). To slow the spread of the virus, governments across the United States implemented physical distancing interventions in the form of stay-at-home orders.

Pacific Northwest wildfire smoke events have been increasing in prevalence and severity over the past three decades, resulting in documented negative health outcomes in adults. However, when examining the effect of wildfire smoke on pediatric health, the literature is scarce.

Background: Particulate matter (PM)-related health effects have been studied extensively, yet wildfire smoke-specific PM health effects and its dose-response relationship have not reached a consensus due to variations in exposure scenarios and health outcome measurements.

Despite the Washington State Environmental Health Disparities Map and the Duwamish Valley Cumulative Health Impacts Analysis assessments being resources for communities to access environmental threats and social vulnerabilities, there is no single map that includes all factors associated with potential chemical mobilization and flood risks.

Background: Power plants are primary emitters of greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants, which are associated with harmful health impacts including increased risk of premature mortality.

Background: Dengue fever (DF) is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease, with an estimated 390 million infections a year, globally. In 1994, Saudi Arabia reported their first confirmed case of DF in the western coastal city of Jeddah.

Climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity, and duration of wildfires. To reduce personal exposure to wildfire smoke and resulting adverse health effects, N95 respirators are increasingly used by the general public to filter out fine particles (PM2.5) present in smoke.

In this paper, we describe the way in which socioeconomic factors (i.e. language, socioeconomic status, and education), climate change, and the migration patterns of US farmworker populations affect health care utilization across the nation, specifically in Washington State.

Introduction

Background: Worldwide, dengue fever is the most common arboviral disease in humans with an estimated 50–100 million dengue infections annually.

Risk communication is an essential element to promoting disaster preparedness and building community resilience to disasters, which pose a serious and growing threat to public health and well-being due to climate change.