There is a strong legacy in primary prevention and support for women and their health in disaster. Research led by the Gender and Disaster Pod (Women’s Health in the North, Women’s Health Goulburn North East and Monash University Disaster Resilience Initiative) has shown that responses to natural disaster need to have a gender lens and that emergency management planning policy, decision making and service delivery needs to consider gender inequalities.
Primary prevention and health promotion for women’s health needs to also:
- Strengthen organisations’ capacity to challenge gender stereotypes, and address gender inequalities after natural disaster, particularly as it relates to the increase prevalence/risk of family violence
- Support recovery and emergency workers to identify family violence after natural disaster
- Work with communities building on evidence as well as “where people are at”, using partnership and network structures to build resilience and reduce risks of vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters.
Health promotion practice for climate change has only recently started to develop. Emerging evidence on health promotion suggests that the uncertainty and scale of climate change and disasters will require new approaches and frameworks. A key foundation of health promotion is creating supportive environments. Health promotion and primary prevention practitioners will need to recognise the intersectionality of perspectives and experiences that communities bring to the shared climate change challenge.
Climate change presents many health challenges but taking action to minimise its impacts through adaptation and mitigation is an opportunity to improve health.