Learning from Eco-social Approaches to Public Health
The LEAPH Lab was thrilled to present our poster, "Addressing Climate and Health Challenges: How place-based adaptive capacity can inform and innovate rural healthcare," at the BC Rural Health Conference in Prince George (May 29–31, 2026). This work highlights how local, place-based strengths can drive critical climate adaptation and structural innovation in rural medical delivery. The project reflects a powerful, intersectoral collaboration bringing together researchers and practitioners from Northern Health, the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), and Simon Fraser University (SFU) to foster healthier, more resilient northern and rural communities.
Poster Abstract
As climate change intensifies health impacts, there is a growing need for responses beyond large population centres. In rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, health is inseparable from land, culture, and identity. This poster shares findings from collaborative research that identify innovations in healthcare through place-based adaptive capacity. Drawing on literature and practice, it underscores the importance of care, connection, and local knowledge, and highlights adaptation as multidimensional, shaped by existing assets, relationships, and ongoing learning. Findings reinforce calls to strengthen existing capacities, support culturally grounded, relationship-based approaches, and encourage community-led, cross-sector efforts to enhance resilience and health outcomes.
