Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

The benchmark assesses the following competencies: 1.4 Participate in health care policy development to influence nursing practice and health care. Research public health issues on the \”Climate Change\” or \”Topics and Issues\” pages of the American Public Health Association (APHA) website.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health

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. Investigate a public health issue related to an environmental issue within the U.S. health care delivery system and examine its effect on a specific population. Write a 750-1,000-word policy brief that summarizes the issue, explains the effect on the population, and proposes a solution to the issue. Follow this outline when writing the policy brief: Describe the policy health issue. Include the following information: (a) what population is affected, (b) at what level does it occur (local, state, or national), and (c) evidence about the issues supported by resources. Create a problem statement. Provide suggestions for addressing the health issue caused by the current policy.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health. Describe what steps are required to initiate policy change. Include necessary stakeholders (government officials, administrator) and budget or funding considerations, if applicable. Discuss the impact on the health care delivery system. Include an Introduction and Conclusion in the research paper. Include three peer-reviewed sources and two other sources to support the policy brief. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health

The environment is a crucial yet delicate resource in which people live. This resource contributes significantly to human health since it provides vital energy and resources for humans as air, water, and safe living space. Climate change, the constant change in environmental conditions over a period of time, is an urgent public health issue as it has significant effects on population health (APHA, 2020). Some of the pressing issues regarding climate change are droughts and wildfires, which are extreme events. These events are linked to excessive human activities, such as fossil fuels like coal and gas, which release greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere, causing an unprecedented rise in temperatures. This paper presents climate change, droughts, and wildfires in California concerning human health.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

Description of the Policy Health Issue

Climate change has become rampant in recent years, posing health threats in the US. The periodic change in climate has caused a step up in the occurrence of extreme events, for instance, drought and wildfires in California. The most devastating wildfire in 2018 and California’s historic drought between 2011 and 2017 make up the most impactful climate change results in California (Wall, & Hayes, 2016). About one million people living in California are reported to be vulnerable to an extreme rise in temperature (Wall & Hayes, 2016). These events are caused by massive air pollution from the construction and transport industries (Cisneros et al., 2018). Climate change has also prolonged the state’s fire season, significantly increasing the dangers associated with it. Thus, it is important to protect the community from the impacts of climate change by taking climate change action.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

Problem Statement

It is important to note that climate change has a variety of impacts, including health hazards such as drought, dust storms, extreme heat, polluted air, degraded water quality, and wildfires. Drought affects the natural flow of water in the ecosystem disrupting water supply (Wall & Hayes, 2016). In turn, the disruption raises the prices of such a crucial resource, increasing the cost of living and making life unbearable for low-income earners. Contact with dust storms and wildfire smoke has several cardiovascular and respiratory health implications, including asthma and bronchitis, among other conditions (Rossiello, & Szema, 2019). These conditions require a clinical visit, some of which are urgent, thus increasing the cost of living for humans. For low-income individuals, their psychological and social health is affected since they can barely access primary healthcare services (Rossiello, & Szema, 2019). Climate change is thus a crucial public health issue and, as such, requires urgent intervention.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

Suggestions for Addressing the Health Issue

Health policy for mitigating the impact of climate change is essential for the realization of Healthy People 2020. The initiative is geared towards promoting human health through the creating of a healthy environment. The climate health issue in question is related to environmental pollution hence the need for community education and de-carbonization action. Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.It is important to note that climate planning is an integral part of health planning and action since the benefits include combating greenhouse gas emissions while improving vulnerable populations’ health. Public health action encompasses assessment, policy development, and implementation. Public health officials must thus identify populations vulnerable to drought and wildfires in California, project the impact’s burden, conduct impact surveillance, check for adaptive risk, and conduct a vulnerability assessment. Creating awareness and increasing access to primary healthcare will go a long way in mitigating climate change impacts on Californians.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

Impact on the Healthcare Delivery System

Climate change impacts a healthcare burden that significantly affects the health delivery system. These extreme events cause human injuries increasing the number of people seeking medical services hence an overload on medical personnel (Xu et al., 2020). In turn, this overload strains the personnel, thus lowering the quality of health and patient outcomes.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health. There is a need to develop system elasticity in the face of natural disasters such as droughts and wildfires. The state of California and the federal government need to allocate resources for the expansion of services to accommodate the surge in demand during such occurrences. Healthcare organizations must also allocate funds for extra medical equipment, for instance, for scanning to maintain the trends of supply of services during droughts and wildfires (Xu et al., 2020). These steps will go a long way in enhancing sustainability in the healthcare sector.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.

Conclusion

The environment is an essential resource for humans as it caters to human needs, including air and water. Climate change is linked to the environment and is thus a crucial aspect of human health since the events affect health directly and indirectly. Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.The impact of climate change in California is evident as it causes droughts and wildfires. A majority of Californians are vulnerable to these extreme events. Therefore, there is a need to put in place programs that mitigate the impacts of drought and wildfires, including community education and primary care funding. California and the federal government must cooperate towards creating a sustainable healthcare delivery system to cater to increased medical services during such natural disasters.Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires and Human Health.