‘I don’t really associate climate change with actual people’s health’. A qualitative study in England of perceptions of climate change and its impacts on health

  Objectives The health impacts of climate change are increasing, but qualitative evidence on people's perceptions is limited. This qualitative study investigated people's perceptions of climate change and its impacts on health. Study design This was an online study using semistructured interviews. Methods A total of 41 semistructured interviews were conducted in 2021 with members of the public aged ≥15 years living in England, recruited via community-based groups. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Participants were concerned about climate change, which was often perceived as extreme weather events happening elsewhere. Changes in the UK's seasons and weather patterns were noted, but participants were uncertain whether these changes resulted from climate change. Participants often struggled to identify health impacts of climate change; where health impacts were described, they tended to be linked to extreme weather events outside the United Kingdom and their associated threats to life. The mental health impacts of such events were also noted. Conclusions The study found that most participants did not perceive climate change to be affecting people's health in England. This raises questions about whether framing climate change as a health issue, an approach advocated for countries less exposed to the direct effects of climate change, will increase its salience for the British public.</p

Did Increased Media Coverage of Climate Change and the COVID19 Pandemic Affect Climate Change Concern and Issue Salience in the UK in 2021?

Evidence from high-income countries suggests that greater media coverage of climate change is associated with greater public concern, while societal “shocks” reduce concern. Conducted in 2021, this UK study of adults (n = 6082) investigates climate change concern, its identification as among “the most important issues” and as “the single most important issue” facing the UK. It does so in the context of increased media coverage of climate change associated with the UK’s hosting COP26 and the COVID19 pandemic with its associated restrictions on everyday life. In analyses that took account of sociodemographic factors, neither increased media coverage around COP26 nor the COVID19 pandemic had an effect on climate change concern or its identification as an important issue for the UK. Its identification as the single most important issue was at its lowest at the height of the COVID19 pandemic, with no evidence that increased climate change coverage affected its issue salience.</p

Applying a natural capital approach to link environmental and health policy agendas on antimicrobial resistance

I will conducting interviews with key natural, social, epidemiological and population health scientists about their views of valuing nature in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) � in particular how natural capital mediates the use of antibiotics; source, maintenance and regulation of AMR.</p

Applying a natural capital approach to link environmental and health policy agendas on antimicrobial resistance

I will conducting interviews with key natural, social, epidemiological and population health scientists about their views of valuing nature in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) � in particular how natural capital mediates the use of antibiotics; source, maintenance and regulation of AMR.</p

‘I don’t really associate climate change with actual people’s health’. A qualitative study in England of perceptions of climate change and its impacts on health

  Objectives The health impacts of climate change are increasing, but qualitative evidence on people's perceptions is limited. This qualitative study investigated people's perceptions of climate change and its impacts on health. Study design This was an online study using semistructured interviews. Methods A total of 41 semistructured interviews were conducted in 2021 with members of the public aged ≥15 years living in England, recruited via community-based groups. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Participants were concerned about climate change, which was often perceived as extreme weather events happening elsewhere. Changes in the UK's seasons and weather patterns were noted, but participants were uncertain whether these changes resulted from climate change. Participants often struggled to identify health impacts of climate change; where health impacts were described, they tended to be linked to extreme weather events outside the United Kingdom and their associated threats to life. The mental health impacts of such events were also noted. Conclusions The study found that most participants did not perceive climate change to be affecting people's health in England. This raises questions about whether framing climate change as a health issue, an approach advocated for countries less exposed to the direct effects of climate change, will increase its salience for the British public.</p

Additional file 1: of The barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation experienced by women’s partners during pregnancy and the post-partum period: a systematic review of qualitative research

Contains the full search strategy used for the systematic review. (PDF 85 kb

Flow diagram of the study selection process.

<p>Flow diagram of the study selection process.</p

Diagram showing the number of studies conducted in each continent since 1990.

<p>Diagram showing the number of studies conducted in each continent since 1990.</p

Additional file 1 of Priorities for research to support local authority action on health and climate change: a study in England

Additional file 1. Policy Document Review – Methods

Line graph showing the number of studies published per year since 1990.

<p>Line graph showing the number of studies published per year since 1990.</p