Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals

Introduction: Climate change is contributing to unprecedented levels of migration with complex impacts on the health of displaced populations. Immigrant and refugee health professionals are well positioned to understand the issues at the intersection of climate change, forced migration, and health,...

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Main Authors: Eleanor H. Emery, Tess Wiskel, Kimberly Humphrey, Gaurab Basu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:The Journal of Climate Change and Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278225000306
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author Eleanor H. Emery
Tess Wiskel
Kimberly Humphrey
Gaurab Basu
author_facet Eleanor H. Emery
Tess Wiskel
Kimberly Humphrey
Gaurab Basu
author_sort Eleanor H. Emery
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Climate change is contributing to unprecedented levels of migration with complex impacts on the health of displaced populations. Immigrant and refugee health professionals are well positioned to understand the issues at the intersection of climate change, forced migration, and health, and to participate in the development of solutions to this crisis. However, little has been done to equip these professionals to join the dialogue around climate change. Materials and Methods: We developed an interdisciplinary, case-based workshop to introduce refugee and immigrant health professionals at an international conference to the ways in which climate change is impacting the health of the communities they serve. We employed a community organizing approach to show participants how their existing skills, knowledge base, and networks can be used to identify and mitigate climate impacts. Results: The workshop was attended by approximately fifty participants. In a post workshop survey, sixty percent of participants agreed with the statement that the workshop would change their professional work, and there was a significant increase both in those who reported that they understood how climate change impacts immigrant communities and in how to use their relationships and resources to combat climate change. Discussion: The discussion themes illustrated the breadth of knowledge of participants, especially regarding the social determinants of health, the health inequities that shape climate vulnerability, and myriad problem-solving processes. Conclusion: This workshop offers one model for how a brief educational intervention using case-based learning and the tenets of community organizing can be used to introduce a new community of providers to climate change work.
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series The Journal of Climate Change and Health
spelling doaj-art-5f8f0c5e13b44dd0828d2d1dc59e9ebc2025-08-20T03:30:31ZengElsevierThe Journal of Climate Change and Health2667-27822025-05-012310044710.1016/j.joclim.2025.100447Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionalsEleanor H. Emery0Tess Wiskel1Kimberly Humphrey2Gaurab Basu3Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy, Cambridge Health Alliance, 1493 Cambridge Street, Macht 420, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Corresponding author.Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 1 Deaconess Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USAUniversity of Adelaide Medical School, 4 North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, AustraliaHarvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USAIntroduction: Climate change is contributing to unprecedented levels of migration with complex impacts on the health of displaced populations. Immigrant and refugee health professionals are well positioned to understand the issues at the intersection of climate change, forced migration, and health, and to participate in the development of solutions to this crisis. However, little has been done to equip these professionals to join the dialogue around climate change. Materials and Methods: We developed an interdisciplinary, case-based workshop to introduce refugee and immigrant health professionals at an international conference to the ways in which climate change is impacting the health of the communities they serve. We employed a community organizing approach to show participants how their existing skills, knowledge base, and networks can be used to identify and mitigate climate impacts. Results: The workshop was attended by approximately fifty participants. In a post workshop survey, sixty percent of participants agreed with the statement that the workshop would change their professional work, and there was a significant increase both in those who reported that they understood how climate change impacts immigrant communities and in how to use their relationships and resources to combat climate change. Discussion: The discussion themes illustrated the breadth of knowledge of participants, especially regarding the social determinants of health, the health inequities that shape climate vulnerability, and myriad problem-solving processes. Conclusion: This workshop offers one model for how a brief educational intervention using case-based learning and the tenets of community organizing can be used to introduce a new community of providers to climate change work.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278225000306Climate changeImmigrant healthCommunity organizing
spellingShingle Eleanor H. Emery
Tess Wiskel
Kimberly Humphrey
Gaurab Basu
Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
The Journal of Climate Change and Health
Climate change
Immigrant health
Community organizing
title Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
title_full Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
title_fullStr Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
title_full_unstemmed Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
title_short Climate change, migration, and health: Development of a case-based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
title_sort climate change migration and health development of a case based workshop for immigrant and refugee health professionals
topic Climate change
Immigrant health
Community organizing
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278225000306
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AT tesswiskel climatechangemigrationandhealthdevelopmentofacasebasedworkshopforimmigrantandrefugeehealthprofessionals
AT kimberlyhumphrey climatechangemigrationandhealthdevelopmentofacasebasedworkshopforimmigrantandrefugeehealthprofessionals
AT gaurabbasu climatechangemigrationandhealthdevelopmentofacasebasedworkshopforimmigrantandrefugeehealthprofessionals