Grant: Foundation Grant

<html> <body>Climate change has been described as the biggest threat to human health this century. The Arctic is witnessing the most significant warming globally, and numerous health implications have been documented among Inuit communities. Focusing on adaptation offers a proactive approach for managing the health effects of climate change&mdash;one that views Inuit populations as active agents in planning and responding at household, community, and regional levels. Few studies, however, have examined opportunities for health adaptation at a community-level or evaluated how existing health policies and programs may affect vulnerability to future change. This has been identified by decision makers as an important research gap, and developing an evidence base on health adaptation needs to be a focus of future work.<br>&nbsp;<br>This research program explicitly addresses this need, with the overarching goal to <i><u>identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential policies, programs, and initiatives that can serve to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience to the effects of climate change of Inuit health.</u></i> The work will focus on responding to multiple risks posed by climate change, covering food and water security, mental health, personal safety, and new and emerging diseases, and will feed into ongoing policy and programming around community based primary health care, emergency response, cultural promotion and preservation, health planning, and monitoring and surveillance. Building upon previous work, the program is structured around addressing key questions, including: What can households and communities do to protect themselves from climate change impacts? Are there existing community-level initiatives that can serve to reduce climate vulnerability? How can such initiatives be supported in the long term and could they promoted more broadly across northern communities to enhance resilience to climate change impacts? How will climate change affect demand for and utilization of public health services? Are public health units ready, and how can they become ready? What can regional and territorial governments do to adapt, and how can these be built into ongoing activities? What role can the federal government play? The development of an adaptation evaluation framework with our Northern partners, and integrating science and Inuit knowledge, underpins developing a rigorous and systematic evidence base for these questions, directly informing decision-making across scales. <br> <br>The program catalyzes a cross-cultural interdisciplinary team of researchers, community members, and decision makers, who have a long history of collaboration. The team have widely published, with their work informing policy development at multiple levels, and incorporates expertise in the health, social, and physical sciences, along with traditional knowledge holders. Leveraging co-funding and building upon completed CIHR work, the program has a central focus on training and mentorship, which will take place within a diverse Community of Practice. The creation of a student network, internship opportunities in partner organisations and universities, and visiting studentships, are all designed to promote program-wide mentorship. The program also has a strong emphasis on knowledge translation, which will be ongoing, and formalized through particular activities including: regular information nights in Northern communities, an Adaptation Summit, policy briefs for knowledge users, and multi-media activities.</body> </html>