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. 2023 Aug 28;19(1):62.
doi: 10.1186/s12992-023-00965-2.

Strategies to strengthen a climate-resilient health system: a scoping review

Ali Mohammad Mosadeghrad  1 , Parvaneh Isfahani  2 , Leila Eslambolchi  3 , Maryam Zahmatkesh  4 , Mahnaz Afshari  5
Affiliations

Strategies to strengthen a climate-resilient health system: a scoping review

Ali Mohammad Mosadeghrad et al. Global Health. .

Abstract

Background: Climate change is a major global threat to human health and puts tremendous pressure on health systems. Therefore, a resilient health system is crucial to enhance, maintain, and restore the population's health. This study aimed to identify interventions and actions to strengthen a climate-resilient health system to deal with the adverse health effects of climate change.

Method: This study was a scoping review. Five databases and Google Scholar search engine were searched using relevant keywords. Initially, 4945 documents were identified, and 105 were included in the review. Content thematic analysis method was applied using MAXQDA 10 software.

Results: Overall, 87 actions were identified for building a climate-resilient health system and were classified into six themes (i.e., governance and leadership; financing; health workforce; essential medical products and technologies; health information systems; and service delivery). The most commonly reported actions were formulating a national health and climate change adaptation plan, developing plans for essential services (electricity, heating, cooling, ventilation, and water supply), assessing the vulnerabilities and capacities of the health system, and enhancing surveillance systems targeting climate-sensitive diseases and their risk sources.

Conclusions: A holistic and systemic approach is needed to build a climate-resilient health system owing to its complex adaptive nature. Strong governance and leadership, raising public awareness, strategic resource allocation, climate change mitigation, emergency preparedness, robust health services delivery, and supporting research, are essential to building a climate-resilient health system.

Keywords: Climate; Climate change; Health; Health system; Resilience.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A conceptual model for health system management
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
PRISMA flow diagram depicting the study selection process
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Frequency distribution of studies on policy options for strengthening a climate-resilient health system by year of publication
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The setting of the identified papers
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The most commonly reported interventions for strengthening a climate-resilient health system
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Conceptual model of a resilient health system to climate change
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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