Grant: Catalyst Grant: CBR in Climate Change Priority Area - Climate Justice

Background: Toronto is experiencing increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, which are projected to intensify due to climate change. Heatwaves have direct impacts on health, including heat-related illness and increased mortality risk. Many low-income and racialized (i.e., high-risk) communities in Toronto experience intersecting social and health challenges, including greater vulnerability during extreme weather events; however, they are often underrepresented in the development of climate change solutions. Aim: The purpose of the Climate Care Toronto (TO) initiative is to capture and respond to adverse climate change impacts on health among high-risk communities in Toronto. Objectives: 1) Establish Citizen Scientist Advisory Councils in two high risk communities in Toronto to understand localized climate change impacts on health; 2) Conduct a needs assessment with each Advisory Council to capture citizen perspectives regarding urban climate change events (e.g., heat waves), associated health impacts, local programming or policy strategies, and the potential of a digital health platform to address current gaps in community action; and 3) Promote climate justice by utilizing the needs assessment evidence to ratify key objectives for the scale-up of Climate Care TO during a knowledge translation summit to be held in partnership with the Advisory Council and Toronto Climate Action Network. Approach: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) in the digital age requires ethical use of existing digital tools to meaningfully engage with citizens on priority issues such as climate change. Digital citizen science - an intersection of CBPR with citizen science - can enable near real-time communication with affected communities, timely data collection, and rapid response to reduce the burden of climate change on communities at high risk of adverse health impacts.