Brown University School of Public Health recently received a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to launch a new center focused on the effects of climate change on aging communities.
Teresa Shireman said the new Center for Climate, Health, Aging Innovation and Community Research Solutions (CHAIRS-C) will work with several existing efforts on campus to improve the It will study the negative effects of climate change on public health. Director of the Gerontology and Healthcare Research Center. Collaborators include the Shireman Center and the Brown Institute for the Environment and Society.
“At a time when there is tremendous pressure to mitigate climate change, this new award formally unites these and other established organizations to bring climate science and health together,” Shireman said in an email to the Herald. “This will foster new partnerships to coordinate aging in a community-focused laboratory.”
The establishment of this center is driven by the increasing relevance of the interactions between gerontology, climate change, and public health. As the effects of climate change become more severe, older adults are especially vulnerable due to “heavy use of medications associated with cognitive limitations, comorbidities, and heat-related adverse events,” Shireman explained. .
CHAIRS-C aims to address these issues through policy-oriented “workable solutions”, which are based on “effective interaction with regional partners, government partners and their policy makers”. This can only be achieved by, Shireman added.
Emily Gadbois, assistant professor of health services, policy and practice, said the grant will allow the center to “work with organizations that serve older adults and those focused on environmental health and justice. We encourage them to ensure that our efforts are carried out.” Aligned with community needs and resources. ”
CHAIRS-C will also be collaborating with Brown’s new initiative Equitable Climate Futures. ECF co-dean Elizabeth Fassel explained that the program has a “broader focus on climate change” compared to the new center. However, Fassel explained that both initiatives have similar goals, emphasizing the importance of community engagement and climate equity.
According to Fassel, ECF and CHAIRS-C also focus on interdisciplinary research. The research requires the joint efforts of “academics from multiple disciplines” and “community and indigenous knowledge holders,” Fassel said. He explained that both programs aim to foster close partnerships with indigenous peoples and communities through workshops, training sessions and collaborative research projects.
For Alan Just, associate professor of environment and society, the new center will strengthen the university’s agenda to work with communities and partners to address the most pressing needs. The process begins by addressing “the heat and air pollution challenges for healthy aging,” Just wrote in an email to the Herald.
Both Shireman and Just expressed their excitement about the new center and how its collaborative nature will help advance the scientific goal of understanding the effects of climate change across multiple populations. emphasized.
