Blueprint for a Volunteer Climate Health Advocacy Group: San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air

Background: San Diego is a picturesque city that is depicted as idyllic in tourism ads. The part of San Diego that is not often acknowledged is poor air quality and high burden of lung disease like pediatric asthma. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Policy Statement on Global Climate Change and Children’s Health calls for pediatricians to “advocate for local, national, and international policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions” and for the country to employ adaptation strategies that improve preparedness for anticipated climate-associated effects. Climate change is a pediatric public health crisis due to its contribution to lung disease, change in transmission patterns of infectious diseases and health effects related to extreme weather events.

Methods: In response, the AAP San Diego Climate Change and Health Committee formed a coalition of pediatricians and premedical interns to advocate for clean air legislation and environmental justice (EJ). Our coalition is a case example of how a local volunteer group can make a difference. We will provide an advocacy blueprint for other physicians interested in furthering clean air advocacy and environmental justice, who do so on a volunteer basis. We detail our organizational structure which includes local pediatricians, the AAP San Diego Climate Change and Health Committee, a public-facing advocacy group San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air, and premedical students. We describe how we worked on focused projects and deployed small teams and champions on different environmental projects and community outreach. We detail how we stayed virtually and socially connected, in order to keep to our organization sustainable but connected.

Results: We describe how along with other local advocacy groups such as Mothers Out Front and the Environmental Health Coalition, we were able to work to protect EJ communities. We detail our early legislative and policy wins included supported hiring EJ staff on the Air Pollution Control District (APCD), restricting sale of flavored tobacco products, and recruited and endorsed a candidate for a Public Health Board Position in the APCD.
Part of our success has been due to our structure of volunteer pediatricians and premedical interns, who collaborate on projects that emphasize local initiatives that build upon the strength of our members.

Conclusion: We as physicians and future-physicians have a responsibility to acknowledge the social determinants of health, including environmental factors such as climate change. Children are especially prone to the detrimental effects of climate change. Pediatricians must be on the front lines in political discussions regarding climate change as healthcare advocates. But most of us are volunteer climate change and health advocates, and we describe how we were able to make a difference is a small but effective volunteer organization. We hope this provides another possible blueprint for other local physician groups.