Request for Applications for Primary Research Projects - RFA 023 Preparing the Health Sector for the Health Impacts of Climate Change

Eligibility

• Deadline for applications: September 7, 2005 (must be date-stamped by courier no later than September 6, 2005).
• $1.5 million has been set aside in this competition.
• Maximum funds per project: $350,000. Contribution funding will not exceed 30 months.
• Applicants must consult the Ineligible Activities section of the Web Guide to research project funding.
• Applications for pilot, demonstration, implementation or evaluation projects will not be accepted.
• Applications whose focus is a single setting or organization, or whose primary audience is clinical managers, will not be accepted.

Objective

The HPRP is seeking to enhance the evidence base to inform the development of policies and approaches for adapting to the potential impacts of climate change.

• the capacity of the health sector to adapt to the health impacts of climate change;
• adaptation options and decision making tools to reduce population health risks associated with climate change; and
• approaches for working with partners outside the health sector to reduce risks.

Background

Scientists, governments and international bodies have recognized that the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will change the global climate, and will affect the environment and human health and well-being (Health Canada, 2001). The world is responding to climate change by trying to reduce the emissions of man-made greenhouse gases. But these mitigation measures will not halt climate change, only slow it down and (perhaps) reduce its severity in the future. The amount of greenhouse gases already in the air, the long lifetime of these gases (some remain chemically active in the atmosphere for a century or more), and the thermal inertia of the global climate system ensure that our planet will continue to grow warmer for many decades to come (WHO, 2003).

There is concrete evidence that climate change will impact health and well-being. Heat waves and cold snaps, extreme weather events, floods and forest fires, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, increased air pollution and allergen levels are some of the influences on health that can be exacerbated under new climatic scenarios and which are known to impact the health of individuals and of specific population groups (Riedel, 2004). While the state of knowledge of human-environment interactions is still in its infancy, we have enough evidence of the potential health risks associated with a range of climatic events to begin examining how individuals, populations and institutions cope with them and why some people are more vulnerable than others.

We have no choice, then, but to adapt to climate change. Adapting means making adjustments that can help to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change, position us to exploit its opportunities, and prepare us to cope better with its unavoidable consequences (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001).

Research Gaps

Key policy questions need to be addressed as an integral part of the climate change and health decision making process undertaken by governments and stakeholders.

Primary research is needed on:

• identifying the current capacity of the health sector (at the municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal levels) to adapt to health issues related to climate change and options for increasing this capacity as needed;
  
  
• the application of tools, methods and approaches for identifying population health impacts related to climate change (e.g., geographical information systems mapping);
  
  
• the identification of existing public health models and frameworks, or the development of new ones, for prioritizing and evaluating potential adaptation strategies;
  
  
• the development and implementation of adaptation strategies within the health sector to reduce the population health risks from climate change; and
  
  
• how public health decision makers have engaged decision makers in other sectors (e.g., transportation, agriculture, industry, and infrastructure) to collaboratively identify adaptation options that will address health risks associated with climate change.

How to Apply

Applicants must:

• get in touch with the policy contact to discuss policy issues and context of potential application(s). The policy contact is: Peter Berry, A/Manager, Climate Change and Health Office, Health Canada (tel. (613) 941-3637, email: peter_berry@hc-sc.gc.ca).

• get in touch with the HPRP administrative contact in order to register and obtain an application form. The administrative contact is: Gail McQuaid-Bohemier, Senior Program Officer, HPRP, Health Canada (tel. (613) 946-3163, email: gail_mcquaid-bohemier@hc-sc.gc.ca). Contact Gail to discuss program eligibility/ineligibility, administrative questions about time frames and budgets, application formatting and content, the review process, and terms and condition of the HPRP.

• consult the Web Guide to research project funding.
• submit an original and five (5) copies of the application to Gail McQuaid-Bohemier by September 7, 2005 (must be date-stamped by courier no later than September 6, 2005).

References

Health Canada. (2001). Climate Change & Health & Wellbeing: A Policy Primer (PDF version). Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada. Retrieved May 9, 2005.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2001). Human Health. In J.J. McCarthy, O.F. Canziani, N.A. Leary, D.J. Dokken, K.S. White (Eds.), Climate Change 2001: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (pp. 451-486). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Riedel, Dieter. (2004). Human Health and Well-Being. In D.S. Lemmen & F.J. Warren (Eds.), Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective (pp. 151-169). Ottawa: Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

World Health Organization. (2003). Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Bibliography

Ahmad, Q.K. et al. (2001). Summary for Policymakers. In J.J. McCarthy, O.F. Canziani, N.A. Leary, D.J. Dokken, K.S. White (Eds.), Climate Change 2001: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (pp. 1-18). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Bruce, James P., Ian Burton, I.D. Mark Egener, John Thelen. (No date). Municipal Risks Assessment: Investigation of the Potential Municipal Impacts And Adaptation Measures Envisioned As a Result of Climate Change (PDF version). Prepared for the National Secretariat on Climate Change Municipalities Table. Ottawa: Change Strategies International Inc. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Burton, I. (1997). Vulnerability and adaptive response in the context of climate and climate change. Climatic Change, 36 (1-2),185-196. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Frank, J., Erica Di Ruggiero, Brent Moloughney. (2003). The Future of Public Health in Canada: Developing a Public Health System for the 21^st Century. Ottawa: Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Furgal, C.M., Gosselin, P. and Martin, D. (2002). Climate change and health in Nunavik and Labrador: What we know from science and Inuit knowledge. Prepared for the Climate Change Action Fund. Ottawa: Natural Resources Canada.

Institute of Population Health. (2002). Expert Panel Workshop on Climate Change and Health & Well-being in Canada: Key Findings and Recommendations (PDF version). Report prepared for Health Canada. Ottawa: University of Ottawa. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Reddy, S.D. (2000). Factors influencing the incorporation of hazard mitigation during recovery from disaster. Natural Hazards; 22(2), 185-201. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Riedlinger, D. (2001). Responding to climate change in northern communities: impacts and adaptations. Arctic, 4(1), 96-98. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Smit, B., Pilifosova, O., Burton I., Challenger B., Huq S., Klein R.J.T. and Yohe, G. (2001). Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity. In J.J. McCarthy, O.F. Canziani, N.A. Leary, D.J. Dokken, K.S. White (Eds.), Climate Change 2001: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (pp.879-912). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 6, 2005.

Yohe, G. and Tol, R.S.J. (2002). Indicators for social and economic coping capacity – moving toward a working definition of adaptive capacity (PDF version). Global Environmental Change, 12, 25-40. Retrieved May 6, 2005.