Global Climate Change and Public Health: Planning a Regional China GEOHEALTH Hub

Project Timeline: 9/20/2012-8/31/2014

A partnership was established between the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control, the Sequoia Foundation, and the California Department of Public Health to plan a Regional China Global Environmental and Occupational Health Hub. The Hub builds capacity for environmental and occupational health research, training and policy development associated with climate change, water quality and worker health and safety. It plays a leadership role in a global network of hubs devoted to increasing knowledgeable broadly of environmental and occupational health and improving conditions around the world.The planning team established overarching needs of vision, leadership development, and policy translation for a successful hub. They also conducted a needs and opportunities assessment of China's environmental and occupational problems and policy environment and the resources available to address them. The team also planed and structured a regional China GEO Health Hub and developed research hypotheses and data sources for three focal areas, climate change, water quality, and worker health. Lastly, the team identified activities to build sustainable research capacity and evaluate the planning process while developing an evaluation plan. The Regional China GEO Health Hub is a center for a wide range of experts in epidemiology, biostatistics, genetics, environmental science, industrial hygiene, occupational health, system science, toxicology, behavioral science, implementation science, research and policy leadership development, evidence-based design and community planning and development.