Arizona Health Professionals for Climate Action

1. Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health– The mission of the Consortium is to organize, empower and amplify the voice of America’s doctors to convey how climate change is harming our health and how climate solutions will improve it. The Arizona Health Professionals for Climate Action is a state affiliate of the Consortium and is open to all health professionals.
2. Health Care Without Harm– works to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice.
3. Practice Greenhealth is a health care membership organization that provides sustainability solutions that benefit patients and employees, communities, financial security, and the environment.
4. The Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education advances global health security and educates professionals on the effects of climate change.
5. Climate Advocacy Lab uses evidence, including social science research, data and analytics, field experiments, case studies, and campaign lessons learned to help climate advocates in every part of the U.S. run smarter public engagement campaigns. 
6. Medical Students for a Sustainable Future is a network of medical students who recognize climate change as an urgent threat to health and social justice. 
7. Physicians for Social Responsibility  currently focuses on nuclear weapons treaties, climate change action, and promotion of renewable energies, especially solar energy. 
8. The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. 
9. Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments promotes healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence-based practice, and influencing policy.
10. CDC’s Climate and Health Program supports state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies as they prepare for the health impacts of a changing climate.
11. https://climateforhealth.org/ambassadors-training/ Founded by ecoAmerica, Climate for Health offers tools, resources, and communications to demonstrate visible climate leadership, inspiring and empowering health leaders to speak about, act on and advocate for climate solutions.
12. Nurses Climate Challenge is a national campaign to mobilize nurses to educate 50,000 health professionals on the impacts of climate change on human health.
13. Climate Resources for Health Education:  a global health professional-led initiative that aims to provide free, publicly accessible, evidence-based resources to accelerate the  incorporation of climate change and planetary health information into educational curricula.

1. Here’s why allergies in Arizona are so bad right now
2. ‘The nature of the beast’: The numerous ways Arizona’s megadrought will affect people’s health
3. Op-Ed: Climate Change Threatens Arizonans
4. Between anger and sadness: How the climate crisis has become a mental health crisis
5. SRP faces backlash on proposed Arizona gas plant expansion: ‘You’re pushing it down their throat’
6. Arizona Lung Association Climate and Air Pollution in June 2022 (recording)
7. Climate Change and Health in the Arizona Nurse Quarterly Newsletter for July/August/September 2022 
8. Recording of Arizona Community Grand Rounds on September 7, 2022: Climate Change & Human Health in AZ: What Health Professionals Need to Know- AZ Community Grand Rounds 9/7/22: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_5CuMA9xWU 
9. Arizona Climate and Health Summit for Health Professionals on 11/15/22; Recording of the presentation from Dr. Amy Collins, “Climate Change, Health and Health Care: How Health Professionals Can Help” can be found here: https://youtu.be/Y3MgO1tYBtg

Arizona Extreme Heat Webinars and Annual Extreme Heat Planning Workshops: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/extreme-weather/heat-safety/index.php#annual-extreme-heat-planning

University of Arizona’s Free CMEs for Heat-Related Illness (1.75): https://azclimatehealth.arizona.edu/education

Explore these medical education modules about heat-related illness written by Drs. Thorn, Jernberg, and Brown. The material in Module 1 covers individual symptoms and diseases with discussion of the clinical science behind the findings. Module 2 discusses the prevention of heat associated disease, public and community health. Both modules are carefully based on scientific evidence and contain information for practical applications as well as material for clinical boards study.

See News and Events tab for additional learning opportunities.

Contact us at: azhpca2022@gmail.com

Use our Membership Registration Form to request to join us!

Please read and consider signing our letter to our members of congress:

https://forms.gle/TvYbH4dYYfywBeEq8

Share this letter with your health organization:

https://forms.gle/DqSWzniXxwVpHGmZA

1. Listen & Learn

·       Follow literature on health & climate.

·       Learn about the eight main ways that climate is affecting our health now.

·       Look for case studies within your practice. Notice when climate-induced factors (e.g., heat, allergies, vectors) affect your patients.

·       Document patient stories or trends you see in your practice as they relate to climate and health.

2. Educate

·       Educate the populations you work with.

·       Hand out educational materials (from the Consortium, mygreendoctor, and other educational sites listed below).

·       Hang posters in your office, hospitals, public spaces.

·       Talk to patients, colleagues, and decision makers about climate & health.

3. Educate your community

·       Give talks or lectures.

4. Speak Out

·       Join a sign-on letter.

·       Set up/join/attend a meeting with a lawmaker and tell them that climate is impacting our health.  

·       Do an interview with the media to talk about climate and health.

·       Submit a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed.

5. Walk the Talk

·       Go green in your own workplace by following the easy guide at MyGreenDoctor.org  or https://practicegreenhealth.org/  or other resources that are helping to increase energy efficiency and helping the transition to electric (such as Project Drawdown: https://drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions).

6. Get Involved

·       Make sure you are signed up as an AZHPCA Member.

·       Become a Clinician Climate Educator.

·       Join an AZHPCA Committee such as Education or Advocacy (or suggest and help lead your own).  

·       Attend our events, or participate in a trip to the Capitol to talk to lawmakers (virtual opportunities, too).

·       Recruit other health professionals to join our effort.

7. Use a climate advocacy resource for your profession to increase your climate advocacy skills:
   1. All Health Professionals:
      1. https://medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/become-champion-climate-health/ 
      2. https://climateforhealth.org/ambassadors-training/ 
   2. Physicians:
      1. https://medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/become-champion-climate-health/ 
      2.  My Green Doctor
      3. https://arizona.psr.org/ 
   3. Public Health Professionals:
      1. https://www.apha.org/Topics-and-Issues/Climate-Change
      2. https://www.apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/topics/climate/Climate_Health_Equity.ashx
      3. https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/default.htm 
   4. Hospitals and Healthcare Systems:
      1. https://practicegreenhealth.org/
      2. https://noharm-uscanada.org/healthcareclimatechallenge
      3. https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/sectors/healthcare 
   5. Nurses:
      1. https://envirn.org/climate-change/
      2. https://us.nursesclimatechallenge.org/
   6. Mental Health Professionals
      1. https://ecoamerica.org/mental-health-and-our-changing-climate-2021-edition/ 
8. Don’t forget self care!
   1. https://climateforhealth.org/climate-advocates-ten-tips-for-self-care/
   2. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/surviving-tough-times.htm