Coloring Connections. Researching Gender, Intersectionality, and Health in the Climate Crisis

Coloring Connections: Researching Gender, Intersectionality, and Health in the Climate Crisis

To develop inclusive and equitable responses to today’s most pressing health challenges driven by the planetary crisis, researchers must explore gender-sensitive and equitable health research. Coloring Connections: Researching Gender, Intersectionality, and Health in the Climate Crisis is a creative coloring book that provides researchers with background information, case studies, and assignments focused on integrating gender and intersectionality into health research amidst the climate crisis.

The book addresses gender across its intersections in planetary health research, covering topics such as heat stress and gender, using gender variables, applying MAIHDA (intersectional analysis) in quantitative research, ethical considerations in studying gender-based violence, the role of researcher positionality, participatory action research in healthcare, planetary health equity in medical education, how masculinities relate to climate denial and environmentalism, and intersectionality-based policy analysis for equitable city policies. The book introduces research methods for researchers dedicated to social justice and includes creative assignments to engage researchers in drawing, coloring, and discussing how to integrate gender and diversity into climate health research.

Research on the intersection of the climate crisis and health is urgently needed. Emerging fields like genomics, 3D printing, COVID-19, digitalization, and planetary health often overlook sex differences, gender, and other inequalities, perpetuating bias. This coloring book aims to inspire researchers to incorporate gender perspectives into studies of health in the Anthropocene, and is available online. 

Featuring contributions from institutions in the Netherlands and beyond, the book was edited by dr. Petra Verdonk and assignments and design were created by Katinka Feijs. It is commissioned by ZonMw and produced by the Dutch Society for Gender & Health, in collaboration with Amsterdam UMC (project leader). 

Verdonk, P. (Ed.) (2024). Coloring Connections. Researching Gender, Intersectionality and Health in the Climate Crisis. Dutch Society Gender & Health in collaboration with Amsterdam UMC, 1 December 2024. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.14047986

Information:      info@genderengezondheid.nl / p.verdonk@amsterdamumc.nl / contact@katinkafeijs.com

 

Chapter 1 Introduction

Petra Verdonk, Ineke Klinge

·       Background

·       Planetary Health

·       Boxes

o   Box: Planetary Health

o   Box: Sex and Gender

o   Box: Planetary Health and Human Health

o   Box: Intersectionality

o   Box: Climate Justice

·       Links

o   Tools, videos, podcasts

·       Literature

 

Chapter 2 Health Inequalities in Heat Stress

Petra Verdonk, Sarah Vader, Yolande Appelman, Jeanine Roeters van Lennep

·       In This Chapter

·        Background

·       Sex Differences in Heat-Associated Risk

·       The Role of Age in Sex Differences

·       Gender and Heat

o   Example I: Studying Gender Using Pre-Existing Health Data 

o   Example II: Heat Stress and The Gendered Environment

o   Example III: Neighborhood Deprivation and Intersectional Inequalities Using MAIHDA Analysis

·       Boxes

o   Box: Measuring Gender

o   Box: MAIHDA approach

·       Conclusions

·       Next Steps

·       Literature

 

Chapter 3 Violence and Masculinities

Petra Verdonk, Nicole van Gelder, Sabine Oertelt-Prigione

·       In This Chapter

·       Background

·       Crisis Enables Violence

·       Masculinities Under Pressure

o   Example I: Climate policies Impact Girls – The Example of Ethiopia

o   Example II: Hegemonic Masculinities After Forced Migration

·       Masculinity, Climate Denialism, and Environmentalism

o   Example III: Studying Cool Dudes and the Denial of Climate Change With Gallup Poll Data

o   Example IV: Taking Up Space – Men, Masculinity, and the Student Climate Movement

·       Boxes

o   Box: Masculinity

o   Box: Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)

o   Box: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

o   Box: Ethical and Methodological Considerations for SGBV Research

o   Box: Reflexivity and Positionality

o   Box: Gender-Transformative Science and Interventions

o   Box: Environmental Racism and Environmentalism

·       Conclusions

·       Next Steps

·       Literature

 

Chapter 4 Health Care and Planetary Health

Petra Verdonk, Hans Ossebaard

·       In This Chapter

·       Background

·       Increasing Awareness of Planetary Health

·       The ’Unique Climate Problem’ of Health Care

·       Diversity, Social Justice, and Health Care

·       Gender and Health Care

·       Gender, Human Health, and Planetary Health

o   Example I Preparing the Australian Health System for Climate Change

o   Example II Studying Care Workers’ Health and Wellbeing with PHR and Photovoice

o   Example III Community-Based Participatory Research and EcoHealth

·       Boxes

o   Box: Cultural Safety

o   Box: Gender Sensitivity

o   Box: Participatory Health Research (PHR)

o   Box: Photovoice

o   Box: EcoHealth and OneHealth

·       Conclusions

·       Next Steps

·       Literature

 

Chapter 5 Medical Education and Planetary Health Equity

Gabrielle Cepella, Amarylle van Doorn, Petra Verdonk

·       In This Chapter

·       Background

·       Planetary Health, Equity, and Medical Education

·       Research on Planetary Health Education

o   Example I Comparing Equity-Based Frameworks for Incorporation in Nursing

o   Example II: Assessing Social Accountability and Health Equity in Medical Curricula

o   Example III: Arts-Based Educational Techniques for Implementing Planetary Health

·        Moving Planetary Health Equity Education and Training Forward

·       Boxes

o    Box: Planetary Health Education Framework

o    Box: Literature Search

·       Conclusions

·       Next Steps

·       Literature

 

Chapter 6: Public Policy, Intersectionality, and Healthy Cities

Petra Verdonk, Josefien van Marlen, Natalia Tumas, Irene van Valkengoed

·       In This Chapter

·       Background

·       Gender and Intersectionality in Public Policy

·       Gender and Intersectionality in Climate Adaptation and Policy Research

·       Centering Inequities in Public Policy

o   Example I: Governing Intersectional Climate Justice: Tactics and Lessons from Barcelona

o   Example II: Gender Mainstreaming and Intersectionality in Urban Planning Policy Analysis

o   Example III: Systematic Reviews on Gender and Intersecting Inequalities in Climate Change Adaptation Studies

·       Boxes

o   Box: Feminist Systems Thinking

o   Box: Action Framework - Getting Started on Intersectionality in Policy

o   Box: Action Research

o   Box: Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA)

o   Box Gender Mainstreaming

·       Reflections on the Examples

·       Next Steps

·       Literature