North Carolina Climate and Health Program
Lead Organization: North Carolina Department of Public Health
Program Name: North Carolina Climate and Health Program
Summary:
The North Carolina Climate and Health Program primarily focuses on health effects related to extreme heat and wildland fire smoke. The work aims to serve elementary school students, farmworkers, local public health preparedness and emergency management staff, low income earners, older adults requiring nutritional support, and young adults attending county parks. To address smoke from wildland fires, a health curriculum for elementary students was designed to teach them about smoke and health, to be taught in connection with Smokey the Bear in Hoke County. Additionally, an implementation and monitoring strategy was created to plan for health impacts of wildland fires and to provide health education on the topic. A main focus of the North Carolina Climate and Health Program has also been on heat. The program has conducted statewide heat-related illness emergency department visit syndromic surveillance. Heat health alert systems were implemented in Bladen, Robeson, Sampson, and Scotland counties. Education campaigns were also conducted in these four counties and were personalized by county to target each county’s at risk population. The campaigns focused on agricultural workers, low income people, mobile home residents, the elderly, and the youth.
Climate-Ready State funded since 2010.
Relevant Links:
- Heat Implementation and Monitoring Strategy Executive Summary https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/climate/HeatIMSNorthCarolinaExecutiveSummary.pdfpdf iconexternal icon
- Smoke Implementation and Monitoring Strategy Executive Summary https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/climate/SmokeIMSNorthCarolinaExecutiveSummary.pdfpdf iconexternal icon
- Heat Implementation and Monitoring Strategy https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/climate/HeatIMSNorthCarolina.pdfpdf iconexternal icon
- North Carolina Heat Reports https://publichealth.nc.gov/chronicdiseaseandinjury/heat.htmexternal icon
- What to do During Heat Health Alerts in Spanish https://publichealth.nc.gov/chronicdiseaseandinjury/doc/WhatToDoDuringHeatHealthAlerts(FoldableCardSpanish).pdfpdf iconexternal icon
To learn more, please visit: https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/programs/climate.htmlexternal icon
Contact information:(919) 707-5900