Choosing Green: Opportunities for Health Decision Making Research in the Era of Climate Change

Callie S. Kalny, MA, PhD Candidate^✉ and Michael A. Diefenbach, PhD^✉; Health Decision Making SIG and Climate Change and Health SIG-in-Formation

Climate change– understood as long-term shifts in our planet’s atmospheric temperatures and weather patterns– poses an enormous threat to global public health. The scientific consensus is clear: unless swift and substantial reductions to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are made, the earth’s surface temperature will likely increase by between 1.5 ℃ and 2 ℃ during the 21st century.¹ Rising temperatures will escalate the occurrence and severity of extreme weather events, poor air quality, and pervasive disease outbreaks; left unaddressed, these changes are only expected to become more frequent and more severe, affecting more people in more places.²

While this situation is urgent, viable solutions remain entirely within our reach. Research suggests that nearly a third of climate solutions can be driven by the decisions we make as individuals on a daily basis.³ Take dietary habits as just one example– reducing the consumption of beef and dairy in favor of plant-rich diets can lead to meaningful reductions in global GHG emissions.⁴ Behaviors that reduce GHG emissions often produce health co-benefits, too; for example, the decision to walk or bike when possible (vs. driving) can help to prevent chronic illness⁵ and improve quality of life,⁶ while also reducing GHG emissions.⁷ When considered collectively, individual choices are consequential in the mitigation of and adaption to our changing climate.

Health decision making (HDM) researchers are particularly well-suited to leverage their knowledge, their skills, and their expertise in ways that clarify decision-making processes in the context of climate change. At its core, HDM research advances our understanding of the cognitive and affective processes that individuals experience when they make decisions about their health. Indeed, there are ample opportunities for HDM experts to apply their behavioral insights to impactful climate research.
 

Consider the following ways that HDM researchers can apply their theoretical and practical expertise to address climate-related issues:

1. Decision theories can contribute to our understanding of how humans process climate-related information, which is often characterized by the presence of both risk and uncertainty. Prospect Theory, for instance, provides a framework for understanding the ways that decisions are made in such contexts and offers insights into the differential ways that individuals approach the adoption (or rejection) of climate-consequential behaviors. Similarly, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior conceptualize the interplay between beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors and are useful starting points for the prediction and explanation of climate-related behaviors.

2. Experts in behavioral adherence, interventions, and modeling might apply their knowledge and behavioral insights to the promotion of long- and short-term environmentally friendly behaviors. For example, researchers found that behavior change was more likely among individuals who (a) recently experienced a significant life change (e.g., moving to a new home) and (b) received an intervention promoting sustainable behaviors.⁸ Still, the degree to which behavioral interventions are successful at promoting long-term, high-impact behaviors remains a pressing question across disciplines,⁹ thus signaling a need for further research.

3. Communication scientists and practitioners with expertise in message design, testing, and evaluation can help determine best practices for guiding the communication of climate change in ways that promote awareness, understanding, and action across a variety of audiences. Communication research also plays a critical role in translational efforts, particularly in terms of effectively communicating scientific processes, findings, and recommendations to key climate stakeholders such as policymakers, government officials, and health practitioners.¹⁰ Finally, communication research can help to explicate interpersonal communication processes, such as climate and health-related conversations that may occur within the patient-clinician setting.¹¹
 

Climate change is already impacting HDM and health outcomes in consequential ways; thus, HDM researchers play an important role in pushing a climate-focused research agenda forward. Addressing the climate crisis head-on demands purposeful, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to exploring, articulating, and addressing the myriad ways that our research intersects with climate change and its effects on both individual and public health. The HDM SIG is excited for the new Climate Change and Health (CCH) SIG-in-progress, and we look forward to future collaborations.

To learn more, visit our SBM websites (HDM SIG and CCH SIG) and follow us on Twitter (@SBM_HealthDM and @SBM_CCH). Individuals interested in joining the HDM SIG may do so through the SBM membership portal. Individuals interested in joining the Climate Change & Health SIG-in-progress may complete this Google form to be added to the email listserv.

 

References

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2021). Climate change widespread, rapid, and intensifying – IPCC [Press release]. Retrieved December 4, 2021, from https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2021/08/IPCC_WGI-AR6-Press-Release_en.pdf
2. Centers for Disease Control. (2019, July 9). How Climate Affects Community Health [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JywsWktvODc
3. Frischmann, C., & Chissell, C. (2021, October 27). The powerful role of household actions in solving climate change. Project Drawdown. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://drawdown.org/news/insights/the-powerful-role-of-household-actions-in-solving-climate-change
4. Tilman, & Clark, M. (2014). Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature (London), 515(7528), 518–522. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13959
5. Piercy, & Troiano, R. P. (2018). Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans From the US Department of Health and Human Services: Cardiovascular Benefits and Recommendations. Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 11(11). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.118.005263
6. Erickson, K., Hillman, C., Stillman, C., Ballard, R., Bloodgood, B., Conroy, D., Macko, R., MARQUEZ, D., Petruzzello, S., & Powell, K. (2019). Physical Activity, Cognition, and Brain Outcomes: A Review of the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 51 (6), 1242-1251.  doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001936.
7. Alessio, H. M., Bassett, D. R., Bopp, M. J., Parr, B. B., Patch, G. S., Rankin, J. W., Rojas-Rueda, D., Roti, M. W., & Wojcik, J. R. (2021). Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Physical Inactivity: Is Active Transportation Part of the Solution?. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 53(6), 1170–1178. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002569
8. Verplanken, & Roy, D. (2016). Empowering interventions to promote sustainable lifestyles: Testing the habit discontinuity hypothesis in a field experiment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 45, 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.11.008
9. Nisa, Sasin, E. M., Faller, D. G., Schumpe, B. M., & Belanger, J. J. (2020). Reply to: Alternative meta-analysis of behavioural interventions to promote action on climate change yields different conclusions. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17614-6
10. Chadwick. (2016). Climate Change, Health, and Communication: A Primer. Health Communication, 31(6), 782–785. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.1002030
11. Alanya C.L. den Boer, Arianne Teherani, & Evelien de Hoop. (2021). Discussing climate change and other forms of global environmental change during the clinical encounter: Exploring US physicians’ perspectives. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 4, 100058–.