Sharing Leadership with Communities to Promote Mental Health Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
摘要
A warming planet has led to the accumulation of evidence that the likelihood of extreme weather events is being intensified by climate change. An area of increasing concern is the impact of climate change on mental health. Climate change hazards disproportionately affect the mental health of certain populations, including low-income communities, immigrants, children, people with disabilities, older adults, and communities of color, clinical populations such as those with preexisting mental health conditions or predisposing conditions, and those who are disproportionately exposed, including those living in geographic areas that experience more frequent or severe hazards. A community-based participatory research (CBPR) orientation is ideal for fully understanding and more effectively addressing the mental health impacts and inequities of climate change. CBPR is an approach that features shared leadership with non-academic community partners with the ultimate goal of social change. In this chapter, we provide CBPR case studies to illustrate the potential of this approach and recommendations to advance the field.