Mechanisms underlying food insecurity in the aftermath of climate-related shocks: a systematic review.

Food insecurity is prevalent, affecting 1·2 billion people globally in 2021. However, the effects of food insecurity are unequally distributed across populations and climate-related shocks threaten to exacerbate food insecurity and associated health consequences. The mechanisms underlying this exacerbation at the household level are largely unknown. We aimed to synthesise the available evidence on the mechanisms connecting extreme climate events to household-level food insecurity and highlight the research gaps that must be addressed to inform better food security and health policy. For this systematic review, a comprehensive literature search was done by a medical librarian in February, 2021 for articles about food security and climate-related shocks. Relevant publications were identified by searching the following databases with a combination of standardised index terms and keywords: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, GreenFILE, Environment Complete, Web of Science Core Collection, and Global Health. Searches were limited to human studies published in English. Included studies measured food security outcomes using indicators developed by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (ie, consumption patterns, livelihood change, malnutrition, and mortality) and explained the mechanism behind the household-level or population-level food insecurity. Purely theoretical, modelling, and review studies were excluded. Quality assessment was conducted using the appropriate Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool. Data were analysed using thematic analysis of the categories of mechanism (interpreted using internationally accepted frameworks), risk and resilience factors, and author policy recommendations. We found a paucity of data with only 18 studies meeting criteria for inclusion out of 337 studies identified for full-text review. All the studies that were included in our analysis showed worse food security outcomes after climate-related shocks. Food availability was the most common mechanism cited (17 studies), although most studies addressed at least one additional mechanism (15 studies). Studies were of mixed methodologies with nuanced discussions of risk and resilience factors, and of policy recommendations. This systematic review shows that there is an incomplete assessment of food security at the household and community level after climate-related shocks in the literature and finds that food availability is the primary mechanism studied. The low number of studies on this topic limits subgroup analysis and generalisability; however, the good quality of the studies allows for important policy recommendations around improving resilience to climate shocks and suggestions for future research including the need for a more granular understanding of mechanisms and feasible adaptation solutions.

The Climate-Smart Emergency Department: A Primer.

Climate change and environmental pollution from health care present urgent, complex challenges. The US health care sector produces 10% of total US greenhouse gas emissions, which have negative influences on human and environmental health. The emergency department (ED) is an important place in the hospital to become more environmentally responsible and "climate smart," a term referring to the combination of low-carbon and resilient health care strategies. Our intent is to educate and motivate emergency providers to action by providing a guide to sustainable health care and an approach to creating a climate-smart ED.

An Electronic-Based Curriculum to Train Acute Care Providers in Rural Haiti and India.

BACKGROUND: Access to a trained, competent health care workforce remains a challenge globally, particularly in rural settings. To bridge this gap, the World Health Organization calls for innovations in electronic learning and task shifting. Yet, these approaches are underutilized due to cost, challenges associated with implementing technology, and a lack of suitably educated trainees. OBJECTIVE: We explored the feasibility of the Acute Care Providers Project (ACPP) to remotely train community members to be health care providers in 2 sites: Haiti and India. METHODS: The ACP program is an asynchronous curriculum that provides core health content and a structured approach to clinical care through an electronic curriculum. The curriculum is reinforced with case-based practice and hands-on workshops for procedural skills. ACPP was deployed in rural Haiti and India. Evaluation of the program included multiple-choice pretests and posttests, an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and direct observation of skills. RESULTS: Four Haitian and 55 Indian trainees completed the course. In Haiti, mean scores were 34.8% (SD 12.4) on the pretest and 78.0% (SD 6.5) on the posttest (P = .004). Trainees scored 100% on the OSCE and passed the skills checklist. In India, mean scores were 16.5% (SD 3.9) on the pretest and 81.7% (SD 9.0) on the posttest (P < .001). Trainees scored a median of 91.8% (SD 3.95) on the OSCE and all passed the skills checklist. CONCLUSIONS: The ACPP offers a scalable, replicable asynchronous curriculum to train lay individuals to provide basic health care in rural communities.