www.thelancet.com Vol 397 May 8, 2021 1693 Climate change affects human health and wellbeing with differential impacts on populations and regions. For example, climate change disproportionally affects girls and women… Click to show full abstract
www.thelancet.com Vol 397 May 8, 2021 1693 Climate change affects human health and wellbeing with differential impacts on populations and regions. For example, climate change disproportionally affects girls and women and can amplify conflict and violence in resource-deprived environments. The way climate change exacerbates economic and social disparities underscores the role of migration in response to climate pressures. Movement or staying in place, whether forced or voluntary, have important immediate and downstream implications for the growing numbers of people affected. Although the mechanisms through which climate impacts human health are becoming better understood, substantial knowledge gaps remain. One such gap is the role of shelter. Housing and shelter are pivotal in considering the physical and mental health impacts of climate change for individuals without shelter or who live in temporary and unfit housing. For homeless and marginally housed people, the risks related to climate change fall in two domains. First, marginally housed individuals are at risk of becoming homeless due to climate-change-related factors, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and economic strain due to energy, water, and food insecurity. Second, individuals who do not have shelter are exposed to an array of climate-related risks, including air pollution, extreme heat and cold, and foodborne, waterborne, and vectorborne diseases. The risks related to exposures are compounded by the compromised health of homeless populations, their inadequate access to health and social care services, and their limited inclusion in climate risk mitigation and disaster response strategies. By contrast with a much larger literature on climate-driven migration, the literature that addresses how shelter influences health outcomes is minimal, with the least information available for the places most affected by climate change. A system dynamics approach can help to understand better the many interacting socioeconomic, cultural, The climate change–homelessness nexus 12 Dubay L, Aarons J, Brown KS, Kenney GM. How risk of exposure to the coronavirus at work varies by race and ethnicity and how to protect the health and well-being of workers and their families. The Urban Institute. December, 2020. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/ 103278/how-risk-of-exposure-to-the-coronavirus-at-work-varies.pdf (accessed April 10, 2021). 13 Chen Y-H, Glymour M, Riley A, et al. 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