Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe
Climate CARE
(Community Actions and Responses to Extreme Weather Events)
Extreme weather events, including extreme temperatures, storms, and flooding, represent the urgency of the climate emergency. These events often catch people off guard and leave governments to respond quickly. This is becoming especially true as weather becomes more intense and unpredictable. Beyond direct effects of extreme weather, related problems, such as drought, wildfire smoke, and food system die-off, are also increasingly affecting public health. To better prepare for these events and plan for protecting those most vulnerable to negative health impacts, our research partnership is informed by a planetary health and intersectional policy lens to create safe spaces for affected communities to tell their stories. The goal of this work is to inform policy-makers about lived experiences in order to improve outcomes, with findings relevant to local governments and across jurisdictions in British Columbia in response to the guiding research question: What factors prevent or enable equitable access to community-based resources (e.g. cooling centres, clean air spaces) to protect public health during extreme weather events (e.g. extreme heat/cold, wildfires)?
See our pilot study report here.
Our Story
From a community-engaged research methodology, this study included working directly with health system representatives, impacted community members, and researchers. Specifically, partnerships were formed by the lead investigators early on with the First Nations Health Authority which serves all of B.C. and the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society (FNESS), also serving Indigenous communities across the province. Representatives from these agencies formed an Advisory Circle, and provided input into the research design, instruments and facilitation. Conducting research in British Columbia to respond to the needs of diverse communities that live across the province presents an opportunity for researchers to co-create institutional changes in the relevant governance systems that support the directly affected peoples or priority populations. Informed by a design justice approach, our research team involves guidance from an Advisory Circle, with representatives from FNHA and FNESS alongside the Capital Regional District (CRD) (of British Columbia) Healthy Communities network. Through this collaborative, community-engaged research, which involved a mixed methods study (i.e. survey, key informant interviews and regional community conversations), together we aimed to support communities by seeking to improve emergency response policies and strategies in the province.