ICUH 2024: A Healthier Horizon: Activating Urban Health Strategies for a Climate

In this special dedicated session, we will explore the most pressing issues for advancing health equity, as explored in the recently released RWJF report, Six Global Trends in Health Equity. Experts and practitioners will discuss the future of healthy public spaces, nutrition security, digital information, longevity, care work, and the housing crisis, all framed within the cross-cutting theme of climate change. We’ll dive into the issues and potential solutions to some of the biggest health equity challenges that will face communities around the world in the years to come. 

As the devastating impacts of climate change on physical health become more apparent, the mental health consequences often remain overlooked. This session will shed light on the psychological effects of climate change, including stress, trauma from extreme weather events, economic disruption, isolation, and longer-term anxieties. The focus will include the critical impacts on children’s mental health and their vulnerability to environmental stressors. Panelists will discuss how climate change uniquely affects children's well-being, both psychologically and physically, and the urgent need for mental health services tailored to young populations. We’ll hear from policy experts, researchers, and practitioners working with communities to mitigate these impacts, emphasizing the importance of building resilience, especially for future generations.