Towards a conceptual framework for place-responsive climate-health communication

Abstract

The challenge of adapting to climate change is now increasingly urgent as climate impacts accelerate. Several existing frameworks are widely used to guide the complex process of identifying and addressing climate-health vulnerabilities, however, none of the most commonly used frameworks center translational communication in their recommended processes, and existing frameworks function with varied success in responsiveness to local conditions. We propose a new conceptual framework for climate-health communication that is place-responsive and centralizes the involvement of stakeholders from local communities in the process of understanding and communicating climate-health impacts. Co-design of materials and processes to translate climate change science extends from the first through to the final stage of this framework. The proposed framework responds to calls for better science translation and interdisciplinary collaborations to enhance climate-health literacy at every level in communities, in order to prepare for the health impacts of a changing climate, and the local adaptive responses required.

Keywords

• Climate-health communication
• Climate science translation
• Place-responsiveness
• Adaptation
• Interdisciplinarity
• Knowledge brokering