Community-Centered Modeling of Housing Related Health Disparities (ComDisp)

Around the world, climate change impacts fall disproportionately on those already marginalized in society. Natural hazards are being modified by climate change (e.g. extreme heat, storms, flooding) and result in adverse impacts on human health, ecosystems and infrastructure. The homes that people inhabit contribute to their risk. Poor housing conditions combine with environmental phenomena to create chronic conditions of public health risk, manifesting as health disparities in respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. The ComDisp consortium will undertake community-centered research that develops a collaborative, iterative process for grassroots modeling of health disparities with predictive capability across climate change scenarios. It responds to health disparities related to housing conditions in the USA, Vietnam, Turkey and Ecuador - with broad relevance in every global society - where living environments are shaped by historical and contemporary injustices. The project end-users are populations who live in housing situations with high risk of climate change impacts. We are particularly focused on the elderly, children, low-income communities, and individuals that have pre-existing health conditions. In each case study location we will leverage existing partnerships with non-academic
stakeholders to include local governments (land use, housing, public health), community health & housing organizations, and climate change action
advocates. Although our project will undertake research in 4 countries, the case studies are strongly connected by a focus on how housing conditions are affected by climate change and impact on the health of inhabitants. Pilot research in Jacksonville, USA, has developed an initial process for community-centered modeling, to be adapted in each location. Consortium members will share our range of skills, resources and knowledge, and PhD students supported by the project will gain experience across the network while affected communities will learn from each other and grow together.

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