Notice2021-22166
Request for Information: AHRQ's Role in Climate Change and Environmental Justice
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 13, 2021
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Abstract
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking information from the public on how the agency may have the greatest impact in addressing climate change through its core competencies of health systems research, practice improvement, and data & analytics. Specifically, AHRQ wants to learn how the agency can best use its resources to help build the healthcare system's resilience to climate threats, reduce the healthcare industry's contribution to climate change while increasing sustainability, and address environmental justice issues in healthcare.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 195 (Wednesday, October 13, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 56953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22166]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Request for Information: AHRQ's Role in Climate Change and
Environmental Justice
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of request for information.
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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is
seeking information from the public on how the agency may have the
greatest impact in addressing climate change through its core
competencies of health systems research, practice improvement, and data
& analytics. Specifically, AHRQ wants to learn how the agency can best
use its resources to help build the healthcare system's resilience to
climate threats, reduce the healthcare industry's contribution to
climate change while increasing sustainability, and address
environmental justice issues in healthcare.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by December 13, 2021.
AHRQ will not respond individually to responders but will consider all
comments submitted by the deadline.
ADDRESSES: Please submit all responses via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#07446b6e6a667362446f6669606247464f5556294f4f5429606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="db98b7b2b6baafbe98b3bab5bcbe9b9a93898af5939388f5bcb4ad">[email protected]</span></a> as a Word document or in the body of an
email.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brent Sandmeyer, Social Science
Analyst, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e3a191868d97cdb0828d878e869a8691a3a2abb1b2cdababb0cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="56142433382278053738323b332f332416171e0407781e1e0578313920">[email protected]</span></a>, Telephone: 301-427-1441.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality's mission is to produce evidence to make healthcare safer,
higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work
within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other
partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.
In pursuit of that mission, AHRQ recognizes that climate change is
a large and growing threat to public health and the ability of the U.S.
healthcare system to provide high quality, equitable care. Climate
change has contributed to heat waves, wildfires, hurricanes, droughts,
flooding, and associated infrastructure failures. All of these have
detrimental physical and behavioral health consequences and place
increased demands on the healthcare system as it also struggles to
respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both climate change and the COVID-19
pandemic have highlighted and exacerbated long-standing racial, ethnic,
and economic health disparities.
AHRQ is seeking the public's input on how the agency may have the
greatest impact in addressing climate change through its core
competencies of health systems research, practice improvement, and data
& analytics. Specifically, AHRQ wants to learn how the agency can best
use its resources to help build the healthcare system's resilience to
climate threats, reduce the healthcare industry's contribution to
climate change while increasing sustainability, and address
environmental justice issues in healthcare.
AHRQ is requesting information from the public regarding the
following broad questions:
1. What should AHRQ's role be at the intersection of climate
change, healthcare, and environmental justice to maximize the agency's
impact?
2. How can AHRQ incorporate climate change and environmental
justice issues into its core competencies of healthcare systems
research, practice improvement, and data & analytics?
3. What are the most pressing healthcare-related areas of climate
change and environmental justice research and actions that AHRQ could
address? Relatedly, what evidence do healthcare systems and
policymakers need to make decisions on responding to climate change?
4. How can AHRQ help healthcare systems prepare for and respond to
the impacts of climate change on patient care, especially for
vulnerable populations?
5. What role could AHRQ play in identifying, gathering, and
disseminating data on climate-related risks and impacts, and making the
information timely and easily available for researchers, healthcare
systems, and policy makers?
6. What practice improvement resources (e.g., tools, strategies)
could AHRQ provide to help healthcare systems improve patient safety
and system resiliency during climate-related emergencies?
7. What are the training and education needs of healthcare
professionals related to climate change and what role could AHRQ play
in addressing those needs?
8. What key research has been conducted to assess or mitigate the
impact that healthcare has on climate change? What are effective
strategies to measure and reduce the carbon footprint and other
environmental impacts of the healthcare sector?
9. What has been learned about health systems' capacity and
limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic that can help care delivery
organizations better address climate change impacts and reduce
disparities?
10. How might AHRQ take advantage of the existing national
infrastructure to advance quality and safety (e.g., measurement
standards, accrediting bodies, learning networks, incentives) to
accelerate work on climate health and equity?
11. Which organizations working on climate change response in
healthcare should AHRQ learn from and collaborate with? Please describe
the nature of the organization's work, evidence, and solutions, as
applicable.
AHRQ is interested in all of the questions listed above, but
respondents are welcome to address as many or as few as they choose and
to address additional areas of interest not listed.
This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed
as a policy, solicitation for applications, or as an obligation on the
part of the Government to provide support for any ideas identified in
response to it. AHRQ will use the information submitted in response to
this RFI at its discretion and will not provide comments to any
responder's submission. However, responses to the RFI may be reflected
in future solicitation(s) or policies. The information provided will be
analyzed and may appear in reports. Respondents will not be identified
in any published reports. Respondents are advised that the Government
is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information
received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any
information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or
sensitive information should be included in your response. The contents
of all submissions will be made available to the public upon request.
Materials submitted must be publicly available or can be made public.
Dated: October 6, 2021.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-22166 Filed 10-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
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