Dissemination of Information About Climate Change by State and Local Public Health Departments: United States, 2019–2020

Karen Albright; Pari Shah; Melodie Santodomingo; Jean Scandlyn

doi:10.2105/ajph.2020.305723

journal article Aug 01, 2020

Dissemination of Information About Climate Change by State and Local Public Health Departments: United States, 2019–2020

Karen Albright Pari Shah Melodie Santodomingo Jean Scandlyn

American Journal of Public Health Vol. 110 No. 8 pp. 1184-1190 · American Public Health Association

View at Publisher Save 10.2105/ajph.2020.305723

Abstract

Objectives. To determine if and how state and local public health departments present information about climate change on their Web sites, their most public-facing platform. Methods. We collected data from every functioning state (n = 50), county (n = 2090), and city (n = 585) public health department Web site in the United States in 2019 and 2020. We analyzed data for presence and type of climate-related content and to determine whether there existed clear ways to find climate change information. We analyzed Web sites providing original content about climate change for explanatory or attributional language. Results. Fewer than half (40%) of state health department Web sites, and only 1.6% of county and 3.9% of city Web sites, provided clear ways to find climate change information, whether through provision of original content or links to external agencies’ Web sites. Among Web sites providing original content, 48% provided no explanation of climate change causes. Conclusions. National and global public health associations have identified climate change as a public health emergency, but most state and local public health departments are not delivering that message. These departments must be better supported to facilitate dissemination of reliable, scientific information about climate change and its effects on health.

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References

Details

Published: Aug 01, 2020
Vol/Issue: 110(8)
Pages: 1184-1190

Authors

K

Karen Albright

Karen Albright is with the Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and the Denver-Seattle Center of Innovation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Aurora. Pari Shah is with the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO. Melodie Santodomingo is with the Departments of Epidemiology and Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora. Jean Scandlyn is with the...

P

Pari Shah

Karen Albright is with the Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and the Denver-Seattle Center of Innovation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Aurora. Pari Shah is with the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO. Melodie Santodomingo is with the Departments of Epidemiology and Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora. Jean Scandlyn is with the...

M

Melodie Santodomingo

Karen Albright is with the Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and the Denver-Seattle Center of Innovation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Aurora. Pari Shah is with the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO. Melodie Santodomingo is with the Departments of Epidemiology and Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora. Jean Scandlyn is with the...

J

Jean Scandlyn

Karen Albright is with the Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and the Denver-Seattle Center of Innovation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Aurora. Pari Shah is with the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO. Melodie Santodomingo is with the Departments of Epidemiology and Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora. Jean Scandlyn is with the...

Cite This Article

Karen Albright, Pari Shah, Melodie Santodomingo, et al. (2020). Dissemination of Information About Climate Change by State and Local Public Health Departments: United States, 2019–2020. American Journal of Public Health, 110(8), 1184-1190. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2020.305723

Dissemination of Information About Climate Change by State and Local Public Health Departments: United States, 2019–2020

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