Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research and Cabot Institute for the Environment recruited a cohort of Climate Change and Health PhD students in 2023, supported by a cross-disciplinary team of academic staff who are experts in their fields. We caught up with the students a year into their projects for an update on how their research projects are going.
Climate change and local public health: how are local climate change strategies developed and are they effective?
Leticia Marca
“In the first year of my PhD I analysed climate change action plans or strategies from Unitary authorities in South West England and Brazilian state capitals. I identified that all the areas investigated have plans related to transport; land use; energy efficiency; renewable energy; communication and education; natural resources; and built environment. However, some differences in planning were also identified. For example, almost all the documents from South West England have actions related to heat and cooling, which was observed in only half of Brazilian documents. These planning differences may be associated with local characteristics and the challenges faced by each local area and can indicate how different areas can learn from each other to enhance their preparedness for climate change impacts.
“Following on from this I will interview local authority professionals involved in local climate change plans to get a deeper comprehension of their strategies. In the next phase of my PhD, I will use mixed methods to evaluate the effectiveness of a decision-making tool used by a local council in South West England. This tool aims to predict the environmental and social impacts of local projects, and reduce any possible negative consequences.”
Assessing the impact of heat adaptation strategies on reducing indoor temperatures in low-income communities in Africa; A case study of South Africa and Ghana
Ritah Pavin Nakanjako
“I am now focusing on assessing the impact of structural heat adaptation strategies on reducing indoor temperatures in low-income houses in South Africa and Ghana. The study intends to analyse the sensitivity of structural components to changes in diurnal temperatures and assess the impact of cool roofs on reducing indoor temperatures as a heat adaptation strategy.
“I have visited three of my sites, two in Ghana and one in South Africa. I am currently conducting exploratory analysis with the indoor ‘ibutton’ temperature data and outdoor station data. Preliminary explorations indicate that different house structures have different diurnal temperature patterns and different temperature time lags of heat exchange.
“I am yet to analyse the non-linear empirical relationship between indoor and outdoor temperature as a result of the different building materials. I will also analyse the impact of cool roofs on indoor temperatures before and after intervention and its impact on indoor thermal comfort conditions.
“This [data] will provide evidence-based research to explore passive heat adaptation strategies in African communities to improve thermal comfort conditions.”
Heat impacts on pregnancy outcomes: an interdisciplinary and cross-species approach
Sofia Samoylova
“My project takes an interspecies approach to looking at the effects of heat stress on preterm births using data from both Diploptera punctata, a species of live-birthing pacific beetle cockroaches, and humans. This will allow to improve our knowledge of pregnancy processes and potentially establish new clinical approaches concerning heat stress and pregnancy care.
“So far, I have completed a CTmax analysis which tells us the thermal/heat tolerance of the individual and therefore allows us to determine what a heat wave would be for said inidividual, and simulated heat wave conditions with pregnant Diploptera punctata mothers. I’ve also sequenced the RNA from the mothers from these heat wave simulations and am currently in the data analysis stage. I’m still collecting data from one more birth to finalize this part of the study.
“On the human data side, I haven’t yet begun analysis but plan to start soon. Additionally, I attended a couple of conferences where I presented some preliminary findings.”
New PhD opportunity
Urban green space as refuge for people and disease vectors under climate change: a double-edged sword.
With heatwaves becoming increasingly frequent and intense under climate change, people are relying on urban green spaces as a refuge particularly as cities can be worse impacted by heat (the urban heat island effect). These green spaces also offer a refuge to vectors of disease by providing suitable habitat for breeding and survival.
Some individuals and communities face considerable inequities associated with socioeconomic or environmental disadvantage that limit their access to green spaces; and in awareness of disease risk and strategies taken to mitigate these.
This project will focus on the issue of public use of urban green space by contrasting two variable contexts, Ghana and the UK – where vector borne disease is an endemic or emerging threat respectively; and where urban green space is either declining or being more accessible and managed to promote biodiversity.
Further information
This is part of a collaboration between Cabot Institute and Elizabeth Blackwell Institute looking at the impacts of climate change on human health.
Find out more about Climate Change and Health research