SWCOEH Faculty Dr. Brett Perkison Presents Paper on the Occupational Effects of Climate Change at AOHC

April 23-26, SWCOEH occupational medicine (OM) physicians attended the 102nd annual American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC) in Denver, Colorado- the largest meeting of occupational and environmental professionals in the world.

AOHC 2017 is part of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) continuing medical education program, which accredits SWCOEH Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses.

This year, Brett Perkison, MD, MPH, FACOEM, a SWCOEH faculty member at the University of Texas School of Public Health, moderated Session 213: Responsibilities of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Physician in the Treatment and Prevention of Climate Change Related Health Problems.

Paul Schulte, Ph.D., Director of the Education and Information Division at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opened the discussion session with an overview of the occupational health effects of climate change on workers. Physicians in the audience role-played as workers reporting to their medical director a list of potential threats affected by climate change in their workplace and/or home, and presented ideas for mitigating that threat.

Following the discussion, a panel led by Dr. Perkison presented and discussed an overview of the paper the group is currently drafting on the issue of climate change as an emerging occupational and environmental health problem. The paper discusses a set of responsibilities for physicians in treating and preventing health problems associated with climate change, and highlights the need for public health systems to allocate for resources to minimize risk. This session was organized by the Environmental Health Special Interest Section of ACOEM, in conjunction with the Underserved Occupational Populations Special Interest Section and ACOEM's Council of Public Affairs.