Climate Change and Global Public Health

Catalog description

This course is about Climate Change i.e. Global Warming! Climate Change has been cited as the most significant public health challenge of the 21st century. We will intensively cover climate change science, public health response to disasters and altered distribution of diseases especially arthropod-borne, ecological consequences, fossil fuel air pollution, global food and health security, and government policy options. Examples of climate challenges will be covered including severe weather storms, flooding, drought, heat wave mortality and morbidity, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and loss of biodiversity. Renewables such as wind and solar energy will be assessed by States. Climate Denialism is covered with the text,"The Madhouse Effect." *GPH-GU 2240** Perspectives in Global Mental Health* (3) Common mental disorders such as depressive, anxiety and substance use disorders are leading causes of disease burden globally and are associated with serious functional impairment, reduced quality of life, unemployment and homelessness and exacerbate risk for medical illness. Yet they tend to get lost on the global health agenda. Lack of familiarity with interventions, measurement challenges, and stigma are, in part, to blame. This course provides exposure to this increasingly relevant public health challenge from a global perspective, with a particular focus on the epidemiology, risk factors and consequences, individual- and population-level approaches to treatment and prevention, and delivery of care for mental health problems in different settings and cultural contexts worldwide. Pre-requisites: GPH-GU 2106 or 5106