Ata Health’s Principal conducted the first-ever national evaluation of the U.S. CDC’s climate change and health adaptation planning program as her doctoral dissertation. The principal worked alongside the evaluation team at CDC to design qualitative research methods to include a literature review of state and local health department climate change adaptation planning, and interviews and focus group discussions with U.S. state and local health department leaders. The study report included recommendations to the U.S. CDC for improvements to the national program and a new planning model for local health department climate change and health adaptation. Study results were accepted for juried oral presentation at the American Public Health Association in 2017.
