limate change affects mental health in many different ways. To understand these effects, we need approaches that look at how environmental, social, and health factors are connected. Systems thinking helps us do this by examining how these different parts influence each other.
This approach also helps identify solutions that can improve both climate outcomes and mental health at the same time. Instead of focusing only on mental health, it looks at the wider conditions that shape wellbeing, including social, environmental, and economic factors. This can reveal opportunities for actions that benefit climate action and public health together.
System Dynamics Modelling
One way to study complex systems is System Dynamics Modelling (SDM). Traditional research methods often study problems in separate pieces. While useful, this can miss how different factors interact.
SDM focuses on how parts of a system influence each other over time, including feedback loops and delays. It helps researchers and policymakers understand complex problems and explore possible policy solutions.
Our Project
This project aims to understand how climate change affects mental health across people’s lives in the UK. We will build a model, informed by stakeholders, to map how climate risks interact with social and environmental factors.
The study will focus particularly on heat and flooding. It will also examine how green and blue spaces, urban environments, and food systems may help protect mental health. The model will be used to explore policies that could reduce mental health risks and inequalities.