Sustainability and Social Justice
Date
4-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy (ES&P)
Department
Sustainability and Social Justice
Chief Instructor
Dr. Eman Lasheen
Second Reader
Dr. Timothy Downs
Keywords
Climate change, Health impact, Mental health, Survey instrument, Healthcare utilization, Mexico
Abstract
Climate change poses growing risks to human health and wellbeing, yet human-scale survey tools and primary data to gauge how local communities understand and experience them remain scarce, particularly in low- and middle-income settings. This study describes the development, application, and results of a household-level survey instrument designed to capture climate-change perspectives, climate-associated health outcomes, healthcare utilization, and adaptive behaviors. The instrument was administered in the municipality of Valle de Bravo, State of Mexico, Mexico, a municipality characterized by diverse social-ecological conditions that make it a bellwether for climate change in the region, capturing respondents from urban, peri-urban, and rural localities. The instrument was administered to 243 adults between April and June 2025 at health facilities and public spaces, capturing data on 951 household members. Results reveal a striking experience-knowledge paradox: 96.7% of respondents perceived worsening climate conditions and 86.4% acknowledged human causation, despite only 34.6% knowing what climate change means. Three groups - children, women, and non-town residents - bore a disproportionate burden of climate-related health impacts, compounded by structural deficits: 56.4% of respondents lacked health coverage, only 51.6% had daily water access, and 3.3% had air conditioning despite extreme heat being the most experienced climate impact. Heat-related and respiratory illnesses were the most common reasons for medical visits, with minors dominating acute-illness visits. Mental health emerged as the most underrecognized climate-health impact: only 3.4% identified it as climate-related, yet 41.7% reported experiencing climate-related emotional effects when asked directly. Adaptive responses relied almost entirely on individual behavior, with low awareness of any government programs (10.8%) and a mismatch between community priorities and public programs. Designed for broad replication in Mexico and beyond, adaptable to other national and cultural contexts, the instrument offers a scalable tool to generate locally grounded data to inform strategic climate-related health policies and interventions.
Recommended Citation
Obregon Diaz, Valeria, "Gauging how Communities Understand and Experience the Health Impacts and Risks of Climate Change: Cross-Sectional Human-Scale Study in Valle de Bravo, Mexico." (2026). Sustainability and Social Justice. 7.
https://commons.clarku.edu/graduate_idce/7
Worcester
No
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Environmental Public Health Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Health Communication Commons
