Speaker
Description
Climate change is affecting Indigenous peoples’ wellbeing, especially health. While the World Health Organization has introduced climate-resilient health systems to minimise climate-associated health risks, Indigenous communities are often neglected in due to their comparatively small population size. Given this context, we introduce a conceptual framework to improve climate-resilient health systems among Indigenous peoples. Our study is aimed at three objectives: i) to identify characteristics of documented health drivers of Indigenous peoples, ii) to develop a health drivers based conceptual framework to improve community resilience, iii) to apply the proposed framework in case studies. We conducted a global-level systematic literature review to collect data on Indigenous peoples’ health in the context of climate change. We analysed 137 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2013-2023. First, we identified fifteen health drivers for Indigenous peoples, which fall into three categories: i) risk (n=6), ii) protective (n=3) and iii) overlapping (n=6). Second, we developed a conceptual framework that consists of six components: i) place, ii) causations, iii) infirmities, iv) interventions, v) sustenance and vi) drivers. Third, the case study assessment affirmed the feasibility of establishing climate-resilient health systems in communities and emphasized the need to shape health drivers to specific locations. This study is one of the first to introduce a climate resilience health system approach at the community level. Identification of Indigenous peoples’ health drivers enhances understanding of causes for health risks and ways for protection. The proposed framework strengthens connections within health systems by informing governments and communities on health policies and governance.
