Climate impacts, water quality and citizen science in coastal southern Connecticut: A review of factors supporting practical public health engagement - A qualitative study on citizen science & climate change.

Abstract

Reflecting trends across the United States and globally, Connecticut’s coastal communities are facing climate change impacts. There is an agreed need to prepare for further, more substantial effects of climate change, including water quality impacts in Long Island Sound. This thesis examines citizen science's effectiveness in addressing local climate change and water quality impacts on shoreline communities. Through a retrospective analysis, the dissertation examines and extensively scrutinises five study outputs plus one U.S. Patent in order to explore the best strategies for community understanding and participation. The thesis discusses established public health frameworks and models and associated themes. It moves on to investigate linkages between stakeholder participation and education, and examines the relationship between community engagement on the one hand and successful public health practical epidemiology and academic work on the other hand. Through an inductive approach, this qualitative research also investigates a range of root cause strategies for creating public interest and building community resilience in a transparent and trustworthy manner, in the context of addressing climate change impacts and improving water quality. An exploratory approach examines best practice models and frameworks within the public health literature with the aim of explaining and understanding the relationships between successful public health implementation and the challenges and barriers faced. Study results demonstrate the use and capacity of citizen science, where using innovation is an effective collaborative approach that can empower local communities to address environmental concerns such as climate change and water quality issues. The thesis takes account of the boundaries and limitations to community engagement work, both as observed within the study outputs and as cited in academic literature.