Conference on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States: Focus on the Caribbean

Developing a collaborative action-research agenda to inform policy and programs

Virtual Conference: October 5-8, 2021

Call for Abstracts

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the adverse effects of climate change, posing many challenges to public health, including increased illness and death from hurricanes, floods, heatwaves and droughts; water and food insecurity; increased transmission and spread of infectious diseases, diminished air quality; and adverse physical and mental health impacts on populations displaced by climate change disruptions. On October 5-8, 2021, the Caribbean community and international partners will come together for four days of immersion in the science of climate change and health in the Caribbean, identifying knowledge gaps, posing solutions, resource sharing, and empowerment, as we work together to address the critical public health issue of climate change. Participants will include scientists, health professionals, educators, students, policymakers, advocates, and civil-society and private-sector representatives.

Conference Objectives:

• Provide a robust overview of adverse health impacts of climate change in the Caribbean and ofexisting evidence-informed mitigation and adaptation strategies, policies, impediments, andinterventions to address these impacts in the Caribbean and, where applicable, in SIDS morebroadly.
• Understand and prioritize knowledge gaps that will define an action-oriented research agendato reduce the adverse health impacts of climate change and seize the opportunity to promoteand protect the health of people and the environment.
• Foster multisectoral and regional, North-South, and South-South collaboration, innovation, anddata sharing to facilitate implementation of a research agenda for climate change and health inthe Caribbean.

Conference Poster Sessions:

We are inviting submission of abstracts for conference poster sessions. Abstracts should address the broad topic of climate change and health in small island developing states, with a focus on the Caribbean. Important themes include:

1. The varied effects of climate change on health in the Caribbean
2. Immediate health benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation
3. The health sector and its role in addressing climate change and health
4. Participation, integration, representation, and collaboration to implement the research agenda on health and climate change in the Caribbean.

We welcome submissions by researchers, clinicians, practitioners, policymakers, educators, students, policymakers, advocates, and others describing work related to these themes that has recently been conducted or is currently in progress. If your abstract is accepted, you will be expected to submit a poster presentation to the conference in advance and to be present during the poster session to answer questions.

Selection of abstracts: Abstracts will be selected based on merit and relevance to the conference theme and objectives.

Abstract guidelines:

Abstracts may be in English, Spanish, or French. They may describe research projects, policy initiatives, or educational or advocacy activities related to the conference themes.
Please submit abstracts on this form, which will ask for the following:

1. Abstract authors (maximum of six) and their email addresses and affiliations (including department; institution; city; state, province, or equivalent; country)
2. Abstract title (maximum of 20 words)
3. Abstract, consisting of 4 sections: Background, Methods, Results (even if preliminary), and Discussion. The word limit is 300 words.

Deadline for receipt of abstracts: August 14, 2021, 11:59 pm, Eastern time.

Key conference partners (in formation):

We thank The Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund, The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the European Union, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, and Emory University Rollins School of Public Health for their generous support.