Creating public health adaptation plans
The BRACE (Building Resiliance Against Climate Effects) model, developed by the Climate and Health Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a framework for agencies to use in developing climate change adaptation plans.
The model consists of five steps:
- Forecasted Impact and Vulnerability Assessment
- Health Risk Assessment
- Intervention Assessments
- Health Adaptation Planning and Implementation
- Evaluation
Step 1 is about determining, with stakeholders, what you know about existing conditions and the potential future impacts of a changing climate on all members of a community, with a particular focus on understanding which populations might be especially vulnerable.
Step 2 involves prioritizing and focusing the scope of issues identified in step 1, and determining what is feasible to assess and in what way.
The assessment in step 2 helps to prioritize and focus the issues and health impacts leading into Step 3, where intervention options are assessed. This step evaluates the magnitude/burden of health impacts, stakeholder input, and the resources available, especially time/expertise, to recommend some interventions to include in the plan to prevent the health impacts identified in steps 1 and 2. Potential interventions can be suggested for near-term, mid-term and long-term planning.
In Step 4, participants will develop a health adaptation plan; utilize stakeholder feedback to ensure the most effective and practicable interventions are included in the plan and update plan as necessary to reflect stakeholder feedback; make and follow a dissemination/communication plan; and begin implementing health adaptation plan.
Evaluation of both the adaptation plan and the process for developing the plan occurs in Step 5. Create an evaluation plan that supports revisiting the adaptation plan to ensure that it continues to support climate change intervention work at the local and state levels.
Climate and Health Program Training
BRACE Overview
BRACE Step 1 Overview
Oregon is pleased to be funded by and participating in CDC's Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative.