Americans Voice a Clear Call for Health Professionals to Lead on Climate

Special thanks to the National Association of Community Health Centers for their valuable partnership on this report. 

ecoAmerica’s latest American Climate Perspectives Survey reveals that Americans are ready and eager for health professionals to advance climate action. Americans understand that climate change affects health. Majorities express strong trust in health professionals for information on climate change and seek health professional guidance on how to care for health amid more frequent and intense heat, storms, and poor air quality. Across party affiliations and age groups, Americans are seeing the unfair effects of climate change on young and lower-income people. The survey findings offer a clear call for the health sector and health professionals — who possess the wherewithal to advance efforts locally, regionally, and nationally — to lead in educating and guiding all Americans to understand and care for health in a changing climate, especially for more vulnerable populations.

Majority of Americans Know That Climate Change Can Affect Health

Most Americans (70%) have heard that climate change can affect health. This awareness extends across party lines and age groups. 76% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans, and 70% of Independents have heard climate change can affect health, as have most people (>60%) across age groups.

Americans See Climate Change More as A Health Risk for Others vs. Themselves

Just less than half (46%) of Americans believe climate change affects their own health, with 12% saying “a lot” and 34% saying “somewhat.” Adding in the 27% who say “a little” brings the total to 73%. While these findings suggest that Americans are beginning to see the impacts on their own health, they also show that many more think climate change affects people’s health in general. Twice as many Americans (24%) believe climate change affects people’s health “a lot,” and 45% believe it affects people’s health “somewhat,” totaling 69%, a 23-point increase versus beliefs regarding personal health impacts. Adding in the 19% saying it affects others’ health “a little,” totals 88%.

Americans Want to Hear About Climate from Health Professionals, Whom They Trust

The survey reveals that most Americans (61%) want to learn how to protect their health from climate effects such as poor air quality, extreme heat, and severe storms. Across political affiliation, 71% of Democrats, 54% of Republicans, and 58% of Independents want to learn more. Similarly, over half of all age groups express interest in learning how to protect their health from climate impacts. 

The good news is that ecoAmerica’s survey reveals a strong trust in health professionals (69%) for information about the health effects of climate change. Across affiliations and age, 85% of Democrats, 54% of Republicans, 65% of Independents, and a majority (>60%) across age groups report this trust.

Americans Agree: Climate Impacts are Unfair to Young and Low-Income People

ecoAmerica’s survey reveals that a majority of Americans (77%, 37% strongly) believe it’s unfair that younger people face greater impacts from climate change compared to older people. This majority holds across party lines with 89% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans, and 74% of Independents agreeing. Strong agreement is likewise observed across age groups. Similarly, most Americans (71%) agree it’s unfair that lower-income people are more impacted, with 87% of Democrats, 55% of Republicans, and 72% of Independents agreeing and most (>60%) across all ages.

Conclusion: A Critical Opportunity for Health Leadership on Climate Actions

ecoAmerica’s American Climate Perspectives Survey shows Americans are ready for health professionals to lead climate action. The survey findings offer a clear call for the health sector and health professionals to educate and guide the people of America on health responses to a changing climate while advocating for equitable climate solutions that ensure a thriving future for all.

Full data featured in this blog is available in the accompanying toplines.

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Methodology

ecoAmerica designed and administered this survey, which was conducted online on February 26-27, 2024, using Survey Monkey. The survey yielded a total of 1,006 complete adult responses and used the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to weigh the national general population and reflect the demographic composition of the US. The sample was drawn from an online panel, and the respondents were screened to ensure that they were over the age of 18. The margin of error for the sample is +/-3%. In interpreting the survey results, it is important to note that all sample surveys are subject to possible sampling errors. Thus, the results of a survey may differ from the results that would be obtained if the entire population were interviewed. The size of the sampling error depends upon both the total number of respondents in the survey and the percentage distribution of the responses to a particular question. For example, if 50% of the respondents in a sample of 1,006 respondents answered “Yes” to a particular question, we can be 95% confident that the true percentage would fall within 3 points or range from 47% to 53%.

Suggested Citation

Speiser, M., Ishaq, M. (July, 2024). American Climate Perspectives Survey 2024. Vol II. Americans Voice a Clear Call for Health Professionals to Lead on Climate. ecoAmerica. Washington, DC.

© 2024 ecoAmerica. The contents of this report may be shared and used under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

For more information, contact us at research@ecoAmerica.org.
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