Motivation for this playbook

Health departments provide programs, resources, partnerships, and services to diverse communities on a range of mental, behavioral, and environmental health needs. State, tribal, territorial, and local health departments are addressing the urgent need to adapt to the health impacts of climate change. CDC’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework was created to navigate the health adaptation process. This playbook is a supplement to BRACE to amplify the incorporation of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, or JEDI.

Due to systemic challenges, which create biases and racist policies and practices, and a lack of resources, JEDI is often not a leading emphasis in health adaptation planning. Although BRACE requires identification of sensitive populations and encourages public health departments to consider JEDI in their adaptation planning, there is a need for a comprehensive tool to support users in exploring JEDI-related challenges and infusing these principles more intentionally across climate and health adaptation efforts. This playbook focuses on the social determinants of health and health equity as they relate to climate and health adaptation work. Offering information and demystifying JEDI provides an opportunity to transform environmental, socioeconomic, racial and health disparities in the country.

(Learn more about how we define JEDI in the climate context.)

The Building Resilience Against Climate Effects framework
The BRACE framework is a five-step flexible process that helps health departments identify how climate change has and will affect human health in their jurisdictions, and to develop and implement adaptation plans. It is a flexible framework that is easily able to incorporate a JEDI focus and practice. Read this section to learn more about the framework’s background.

Health Impacts of Climate Change: The Role of JEDI
Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion are fundamental to evaluating climate hazards’ threats to public health. Climate change affects individual health differently due to the influence of personal, social and environmental factors. Read more to learn about specific and interacting factors that can strengthen or weaken an individual and community adaptation to health risks related to climate change.

Preparing for JEDI and BRACE
Before jumping into the work, it’s important to note that building meaningful partnerships with local organizations and community leaders is key to the success and sustainability of the efforts. It is equally key to evaluate departmental capacity and readiness. Read more about these two pre-steps in this section.