Climate and Health Allied Network for Geospatial and Environmental Science (CHANGES) Center

Vision

Synergize expertise in geographic information science, health data science, epidemiology, and biomedical research to identify – and ultimately predict – gaps in health care, inform policies, and create actionable strategies to optimally protect our vulnerable communities in New Mexico from climate change.

Goals

1. Synthesize and integrate diverse datasets and leverage cutting-edge tools for geospatial analysis to connect exposure and health outcomes data to discover previously unseen patterns.
2. Develop culturally responsive practices for community engagement in climate health that benefit diverse communities, underserved and underrepresented populations, and key stakeholders.
3. Establish a sustainable transdisciplinary Climate Change and Human Health Center serving as a model for cross-campus team science and climate change interventions that maximize human health outcomes.

Projects

Climate-Related Disasters and Impacts on Health Systems

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)¹ has quantified increased risks of disasters resulting from climate change in New Mexico (NM). Since 1984, 2% of NM land has burned yearly, largely due to reduced water supply, increased droughts, and extreme heat. Extreme heat alone may create health problems, especially for those without electricity, impacting as much as 40% of the Navajo Nation¹. From 2000 – 2019, 510,837 deaths and 3.9 billion people were affected by climate-related disasters worldwide. Climate change has resulted in increased heat-related deaths and vector-borne diseases and is linked to hypertension (HTN), cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and depression. Still, climate change and health are understudied in the U.S., especially in rural areas, and lack projections of health outcome. There are research gaps in identifying long-term changes in climate-sensitive health indicators, future projections of impacts, and adaptive capacity of the health sector. We need a prototype GIS-based Climate-Related Disasters Risk Assessment and Projection System (C-DRAPS) to access data, assess risks, and project health outcomes. C-DRAPS will help clinicians, educators, and community leaders who care for disaster-affected populations identify key health indicators, forecast future health trends, and understand crucial community characteristics linked to climate-related disaster resiliency. Addressing these gaps would enable data-driven planning for the health sector and community. This would contribute to health equity by preventing disparate long-term impacts of climate-related disasters, especially in rural areas.

Project Leaders: Roberta Lavin, Ph.D., Xi Gong, Ph.D.

Co-Leaders or Mentors: Mary Pat Couig, Ph.D., Peter Fawcett, Ph.D.

Linking Wildfire Smoke to Cancer

Wildfires are increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity, making their smoke a major contributor to air pollution across much of the United States. Recent studies show that wildfire smoke has stalled or reversed decades of progress in reducing PM_2.5 concentrations in most U.S. states since a decade ago. Wildfire smoke contains harmful particles and carcinogens that can affect both physical and mental health shortly after exposure, and may lead to lung damage within weeks to months. However, the long-term health effects of repeated wildfire smoke exposure—particularly in relation to cancer development and survival—are not well understood. We will link advanced PM_2.5 exposure estimates with cancer incidence and survival data to evaluate whether wildfire smoke contributes to increased cancer risk and/or poorer survival outcomes. Our team will also work with the Community Engagement Core to share findings using culturally appropriate, science-based messaging to support individual and community decision-making.

Project Leaders: Shuguang Leng, Ph.D., Charles Wiggins, Ph.D.

Co-Leaders or Mentors: Peng Mao, Ph.D., Xi Gong, Ph.D., Huining Kang, Ph.D.

The Community Engagement Core (CEC)

The Community Engagement Core (CEC) of UNM CHANGES aims to foster communication among diverse stakeholders on climate change and health. The CEC focuses on building capacity and partnerships using principles of community-based participatory research. It will engage communities to identify research priorities and close communication gaps, co-develop culturally-centered communication strategies to improve environmental health literacy, and implement sustainable partnerships that provide training in cultural and science communication and disaster preparedness. These efforts aim to enhance resilience and ensure that research aligns with community needs. 

Project Leaders: Tamar Ginossar, Ph.D.

The Data Core (DC)

The Data Core (DC) will develop critical research infrastructure by leveraging existing resources across campus and aligning it with center-wide research to streamline data acquisition, processing, harmonization, analysis, synthesis, integration, and dissemination (APHASID). Through APHASID activities the DC will: (1) support research on the complex health impacts of climate change; and (2) inform action-oriented strategies that protect health and build resiliency in our underserved New Mexico (NM) communities and beyond.

Project Leaders: Su Zhang, Ph.D., Yiliang Zhu, Ph.D.

Co-Leaders or Mentors: Christopher Lippitt, Ph.D., Orrin Myers, Ph.D.

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