Minnesota Assesses Climate Risk to Public Health

Developed a public health Strategic Adaptation Plan

• The Department of Health established a climate change workgroup comprised of senior management and subject matter experts from different health agency programs, among those were officials from divisions specializing in environmental health, emergency preparedness, public health labs, epidemiology and health tracking, family health, infectious disease, pollution control, and vulnerable population health divisions.
• Minnesota developed a public health plan that focused on climate risks from six main pathways:
  • extreme heat events
  • extreme weather events
  • vector-borne diseases
  • air pollution and allergens
  • water quality and quantity
  • waterborne and foodborne diseases
• Several research gaps were identified, among them the need to conduct a vulnerability assessment, the need to better identify and outreach to vulnerable populations, and the need for additional research on the complex relationship between climate change and fine particulate matter (PM) (for more on the national status of this research please visit the EPA’s Air Quality and Climate Change Page).

• The EPA provides background information, research, resources, and tools related to air quality and climate change.
• Yearly, the USGCRP publishes the National Climate Assessment to understand, assess, predict and respond to climate change.

Developed a risk map showing both vulnerable populations and county threat prevalence

• Worked through CDC's Building Resilience Against Climate Effects Program to develop a “Profile Report” that shows the composite climate hazard risk map for the state.
• The map indicates at the county level, the most significant climate threats from the six main pathways.

• The CDC's Assessing Health Vulnerability to Climate Change helps health departments assess local vulnerabilities to the health hazards associated with climate change. 
• The Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) Framework is a five-step process that allows health officials to develop strategies and programs to help communities prepare for the health effects of climate change.

Provided tools for community use and recognized additional need for community level information

• Minnesota provides tools and resources such as its Extreme Heat Toolkit and Climate Change 101 Training, to local municipalities and health departments to help them better prepare for public health impacts.
• Minnesota Climate And Health Profile Report 2015 acknowledges that further vulnerability assessments are needed "…at finer geographic levels to help public health departments and others plan for the impacts of climate change."

• Extreme Heat Toolkit helps visualize datasets that can contribute to a community's vulnerability and serves as a launching point for streamlining local solutions to protect health and increase climate resilience.
• Climate Change 101 Training provides an overview of the observed climate changes in Minnesota, the public health issues related to climate change, and public health strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
• The CDC's Assessing Health Vulnerability to Climate Change helps health departments assess local vulnerabilities to the health hazards associated with climate change.