SPARK Conversations
What does it take to build better healthcare systems that truly work for every child in Canada? SPARK Conversations is Children's Healthcare Canada's podcast series bringing together the clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and families who are shaping the future of children's healthcare to explore what's working, what's possible, and what comes next. This is where the conversation starts.
SPARK Conversations
Climate Change: A Child Health Issue Now and Into the Future
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While COVID-19 has resulted in a global health crisis with considerable negative health impacts affecting children and youth, climate change has been an evolving and escalating global threat to child health for even longer. The global mean temperature warming is escalating and will have lasting momentum for centuries to millennia. However, immediate action can mitigate future warming in the next two decades and will immediately improve air quality. Unfortunately, the impact of climate change on child health and the healthcare system is multifaceted and today’s children are expected to bare disproportionate burden in their lifetime. The health impacts span the full pediatric age-range and can affect almost any organ system through acute illness and injury or chronic, complex stressors, including both mental and physical aspects. In sum, climate change can have negative effects on long-term neurodevelopment, alters the social and environmental determinants of health, and can potentially amplify burdens for children with pre-existing medical conditions. Join us for an evidence-informed discussion with pediatric intensive care doctor, Dr. Anna Gunz, in which we explore the impact of climate change on child health, healthcare systems, and beyond.
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