Coming to terms with climate change: a glossary for climate change impacts on mental health and well-being
Climate change is a major threat to global health. Its effects on physical health are increasingly recognised, but mental health impacts have received less attention. The mental health effects of climate change can be direct (resulting from personal exposure to acute and chronic climatic changes), indirect (via the impact on various socioeconomic, political and environmental determinants of mental health) and overarching (via knowledge, education and awareness of climate change). These impacts are unequally distributed according to long-standing structural inequities which are exacerbated by climate change. We outline key concepts and pathways through which climate change may affect mental health and explore the responses to climate change at different levels, from emotions to politics, to highlight the need for multilevel action. We provide a broad reference to help guide researchers, practitioners and policy-makers in the use and understanding of different terms in this rapidly growing interdisciplinary field.
Authors
- Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6593-9092)
- Andrew J. Weaver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0770-0590)
- Gina Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5295-316X)
- Richard Shaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7906-6066)
- Jala Rizeq (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3915-5846)
- Esther K. Papies
- Symon M. Kariuki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3934-5132)
- Claire L. Niedzwiedz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6133-4168)
- Jonathan Olsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5356-8615)
- Chiara K. V. Hill-Harding
- Rhian Thomas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0855-3836)
- Hester Parr
- Tsion Afework
Institutions
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- University of Victoria (CA)
- Kenya Medical Research Institute (KE)
- MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (GB)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- Athabasca University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
- Published
- 2024-12-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-222716
- Citations
- 12
- Primary Topic
- Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.46
Funders
- Chief Scientist Office
- University of Glasgow
- Medical Research Council
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Medical Research Foundation