Key Objectives:
The roundtable will provide participants with the opportunity to learn about the work the BRACE Methods Community of Practice (CoP) is doing to synthesize a variety of vulnerability assessment methods used by CDC-funded Climate and Health Program grantees and others. We will discuss the utility and feasibility of these vulnerability assessment case studies as tools for planning and implementing public health climate-related interventions.
Brief Summary:
The BRACE Methods Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of federal, state and local epidemiologists interested in advancing the evidence base for understanding the health impacts of climate in the United States by documenting methodological options, insights, and lessons learned. Over the last three years, the sixteen states and two cities who are Climate and Health grantees completed climate-related vulnerability assessments, using a variety of approaches. CoP members are compiling case studies from collaborating grantees and others who have conducted these assessments and are writing a white paper synthesis intended to be a resource to others interested in completing an assessment in their jurisdiction. During the Roundtable, the presenters will describe the case studies in their synthesis, and how these diverse methods can be used as a reference tool for those developing vulnerability assessments and for those planning and implementing interventions. Roundtable participants will be invited to give feedback and ask questions. Specific topics for discussion include: types of assessments, (for example, general, health outcome, and hazard-specific); statistical methods used, (i.e., descriptive analysis, principal component analysis, regression analysis, etc.); resources needed to conduct the assessment; and where resources may be leveraged (such as data from other programs, external contractors, academics, and vulnerability tools available on the web). Finally, examples will be presented of select vulnerability assessments that produced information that led to specific community interventions planned or implemented.