338582
Minnesota Department of Public Health's Experience with Weather and Climate Data
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
: 2:50 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.
Brenda Hoppe, PhD,
Environmental Health Division, Minnesota Department of Health, St Paul, MN
As concern has escalated for the health risks related to climate change, epidemiologists and other public health practitioners are turning to colleagues in weather and climate science for help with investigating and characterizing the magnitude and distribution of impacts. This nascent alliance between disciplines is rapidly growing, fostering collaborations between public health and meteorologists and climatologists from the local to the federal level. However, given all the benefits there are also challenges. Many epidemiologists are new to identifying, applying and interpreting weather and climate data for understanding exposure and risk to human health and may also be unfamiliar with the technical language and best practices fundamental to meteorology and climate science research. Minnesota Department of Health research staff will describe “hits and misses” working with weather and climate data early in the BRACE process. The speaker will identify readily-available weather and climate data sources and highlight specific challenges and best practices for epidemiologists using these data for public health research. Specific examples will be provided from efforts underway at MDH to characterize climate change disease burden stemming from drought and flood impacts on private wells or other small water systems across the state.
Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences
Learning Objectives:
Identify hurdles that might be faced by health departments when accessing meteorological data
Describe steps taken by the Minnesota Department of Health to increase cross-discipline collaboration
Identify readily available climate and weather data resources
Keyword(s): Climate and Health, Environmental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Brenda Hoppe is a senior epidemiologist with the Minnesota Climate and Health Program where she investigates the impacts of climate change hazards on various health inputs and outcomes specific to Minnesotan communities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
