Evaluating health impacts of climate adaptation strategies

Flooding is a major current environmental risk, which is predicted to increase under climate change. Diverse adaptations are being implemented around the world to mitigate its impact, though little is known about which may best protect health.

We will develop an evaluation tool using cross-disciplinary approaches and calibrate it through empirical study of existing adaptations for flooding. The research will integrate insights from climate and hydrological sciences, social sciences, and health and economic sciences of disease burden and well-being. We will focus on three adaptation interventions in Ghana, Ireland and the UK: flood infrastructure; planned relocation; and catchment-based planning. We will undertake proof-of-concept evaluations for these interventions to develop the tool, generating specific lessons on flood adaptation and wider lessons on climate change adaptations. The research can be used for adaptation planning on a global scale. 

The tool will be able to evaluate the direct and indirect health effects of adaptation interventions. It will focus on the wider effects of adaptation for the health and socio-economic well-being of the most vulnerable populations.