Oregon Climate & Health Vulnerability Assessment
Posted by
CAKE TeamPublished
Abstract
This vulnerability assessment is intended to inform public health professionals and community partners engaged in climate change adaptation and resilience planning. It focuses specifically on social vulnerability as a way to integrate the concepts of social determinants of health and environmental justice into climate change planning.
The Climate and Health Program developed this assessment in consultation with other grantees of the CDC’s Climate Ready States and Cities Initiative. The assessment is based on associations identified in research literature, which are summarized in the 2014 Oregon Climate and Health Profile Report.
The Climate and Health Program envisions this assessment being updated and expanded as our knowledge grows and conditions change. This first edition, published in Fall 2015, is limited to measures of population sensitivity. In the future, we anticipate adding measures of hazard exposure such as extreme heat, and adaptive capacity, such as access to air conditioning. Additionally, we hope to expand the composite vulnerability index in subsequent assessments to incorporate more measures of vulnerability, and we hope to add context by analyzing the key drivers in each community.