Advocacy for Climate Change and Health: A Conversation with the Health Policy Ambassadors

Linda Trinh, PhD & Michael A. Diefenbach, PhD; Climate Change and Health SIG

SBM’s health policy ambassadors work to build relationships with policymakers and engage them to make evidence-based decisions in key priority areas. SBM's newest policy priority area on climate change and health was just formed this past summer, and there is already forward momentum in this area. In this article, we feature two climate change and health ambassadors: Kristi White; Ph.D., LP, ABPP; Assistant Professor from the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, and Sara Fleszar-Pavlović, PhD; Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami.

Dr. Kristi White takes an environmental justice perspective to promote co-benefit solutions (i.e., solutions that have both environmental and human health benefits) using her background as a stress researcher to guide her work. Currently, Dr. White is the lead Health Policy Ambassador for Climate Change and Health, where she serves as a resource for her fellow ambassadors. She describes the Health Policy Ambassador Program as “an initiative that aims to facilitate the translation of our science into policy by connecting SBM members with legislators who are engaged on priority health issues. The goal is to form a collaborative relationship with our local policymakers and to serve as content experts for science-informed policy and decision-making.”

Dr. White provides some insights into the policy initiatives that they hope to pursue: “…Some of our longer-term policy outcomes will likely include prioritizing environmental justice, increasing funding for active transportation infrastructure, supporting federal funding for climate and health equity research, supporting training initiatives that educate future clinicians about climate-aware clinical practice, and providing funding for interventions that have both an environmental and human health co-benefit (e.g., community gardens, green healthcare standards and practices, plant-based dietary offerings in the hospital setting).”

We also sat down with Dr. Fleszar-Pavlović to discuss her experiences with the program.

Drs. Trinh & Diefenbach: How did you become a Heath Policy Ambassador?

Dr. Fleszar-Pavlović: “In 2020, I joined SBM’s Presidential Working Group on Climate Change, Behavior Change, and Health where the SBM community’s passion for climate change advocacy motivated me to join the Climate Change and Health (CCH) Special Interest Group (SIG) in-formation. It was through the CCH SIG that I learned about the ambassador program, and how as researchers we can play a role not only in climate change research, but also in informing policy change.”

Drs. Trinh & Diefenbach: What are the benefits of being an ambassador?

Dr. Fleszar-Pavlović: “As an ambassador, I have had the opportunity to receive training on methods to engage with policy makers and learn about policy making processes. I have also had networking and collaboration opportunities with leaders in diverse fields of research."

Drs. Trinh & Diefenbach: You have recently moved across the country from California with wildfires to Florida with Hurricanes. How has this influenced your approach to climate change issues?

Dr. Fleszar-Pavlović: “Florida and California are the most vulnerable states to Climate Change. While Californians are experiencing worsening of wildfires, Floridians are experiencing increases in tropical storms. Although these are vastly different consequences of climate change, the health outcomes are equally devastating. Moving across the country has reinforced my belief that a key component to communicating climate change and health is creating geographically relevant narratives.”

Drs. Trinh & Diefenbach: What recommendations do you have for members looking to advocate for climate change and health at the local level where they live?

Dr. Fleszar-Pavlović: “There are many ways to advocate for climate change at your local level, such as sending emails or meeting with your local lawmakers to discuss the latest research, inviting local policy makers to your institutions for meetings/presentations, or becoming involved with regional climate change compacts or summits.”

Drs. Trinh & Diefenbach: What are some challenges that you have faced when educating policy makers on climate change and health?

Dr. Fleszar-Pavlović: “Although public awareness of climate change is increasing, a challenge we still face is the wide partisan divide in the beliefs about the significance of climate-change and its links with health risks (e.g., rising food insecurity, clean water shortage, mental distress), as well as the urgency to modify behaviors to mitigate the worsening of climate change.”

Dr. Kristi White encourages interested members to reach out to the main SBM e-mail (info@sbm.org) and the staff will connect them to colleagues who serve on the SBM Advocacy Council to explore next steps. “Don't let lack of experience or limited knowledge about policy and advocacy work stop you. We have an amazing community of supportive colleagues and resources to bring people up to speed, and we are all continuously learning from each other,” Dr. White says.