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Evaluation

Practice Related Session Proposals

Population Health

Session Name: Concurrent Sessions

Climate Change: Effects, Response and Future Implications for an Already Vulnerable Population

Saturday, November 18, 2023
3:00 PM – 4:15 PM CT
Location: CC 217-219
In-Person Live Stream On Demand

    Session Director(s)

  • Glendaliz Bosques, MD

    Associate Professor, Department of Neurology
    Dell Medical School At UT Austin
    Austin, Texas

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

    • Faculty(s)

  • Andre Taylor, MBA, MD

    President
    Dependable Home Care, Inc
    Wantagh, New York

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

  • Juan Galloza-Otero, MD

    Medical Director - Inpatient Rehab Unit
    Hospital De La Concepcion
    Penuelas, Puerto Rico

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

  • Felicia Skelton, MD (she/her/hers)

    Associate Professor
    Baylor College of Medicine
    Houston, Texas

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

  • Marcalee Alexander, MD (she/her/hers)

    President Sustain Our Abilities; Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Climate Change and Health
    n/a
    Palm Coast, Florida

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Climate change is one of the greatest public health concerns of the 21st century. As physiatrists, we should increase education regarding emergency preparedness and the climate-related health effects that adversely impact people with disabilities. The goal of this session is to increase awareness and knowledge of how climate change disproportionately affects our patient populations; to encourage patient advocacy for climate change policies and resources focused on the needs of people with disabilities; to provide tools to help this vulnerable population overcome barriers in receiving disaster services; and to explore the experiences and needs of people with pre-existing disabilities facing natural disasters. Our patient population, given significant mobility disabilities, is challenged by health disparities and unique social determinants of health, which also contributes to the higher risk of experiencing the effects of climate change and having significant implications with more unfavorable outcomes.

In addition to the impact upon our patients, natural events place additional stress on our healthcare and rehabilitation systems, resulting in life-threatening obstacles to evacuation and care during disasters, including power outages, flooding, debris, care disruption, limited access to medications and supplies, property damage, displacement, and psychological trauma. Physiatrists need to understand the scope of these concerns in addition to its impact on the populations we serve and the rehabilitation healthcare systems that we practice within.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the relationships between climate change and its impacts in the amplification of health care disparities among vulnerable populations.
  • Evaluate the efficacy (appropriateness) of their health-care system’s preparation and response processes in consideration to vulnerable populations.
  • Outline potential opportunities to connect with community partners to maintain access to services and sustain abilities despite climate crises
  • Incorporate the lived experience of vulnerable populations, from representative physicians, into future planning and address climate change mitigation methods for rehabilitation healthcare practices.
  • Describe examples of effective preparation, support and recovery phases for vulnerable populations.