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472 assessment of climate change in the southwest united statesTable 20.1 Research needs and strategies associated with themes in the Assessment ofClimate Change in the Southwest United States (Continued)Uncertainty theme Research need Research strategyPUBLIC HEALTH (CHAPTER 15)Limited understanding of theassociations between meteorologicalfactors and healthimpacts contributes to uncertainty,and limits the capacityof current statistical models topredict future health impacts.Uncertainty in the futureoccurrence of allergies andasthma, in association withfuture pollen production,which may be influenced byincreases in atmospheric CO 2concentration.Uncertainty due to possiblemultiple causes of mortalityin the case of heat-relateddeaths.Limitations to public healthdata.High-quality, high-resolutionlong-term health and climate dataare necessary to fully characterizetheir relationship and adequatelyestimate future impacts to healthfrom climate change. Deficienciesin the quality of health data limitour ability to characterize linkagesbetween climate change and healthand develop predictive models forclimate-related health impacts.Examination of linkages betweenpollen production, phenology, andpublic health.Criteria for heat-related mortalityare not standardized. It is oftendifficult to identify where and whencases were exposed to infectiousdiseases.Data on the spatial attributes ofvector-borne diseases are requiredto estimate future infectious diseaseimpacts. Criteria for identifyingcases are not always consistent,suggesting a need to standardizediagnostic criteria. Multi-year datasets with high spatial and temporalresolution from multiple locationsare needed to allow us to assessrisk changes over time and estimatefuture impacts at a regional scale.Incorporate physiological, societal, andbehavioral effects to reduce uncertaintyin predicting health outcomes. Improveddata collection, combined with exploratoryanalyses that make use of sparse data, andhypothesis-driven diagnostic analyses canhelp build experimental predictive capacity.Systematic focus on allergies and asthma, inconjunction with field observations, greenhouseexperiments, and modeling. Developinterdisciplinary research initiatives andmultidisciplinary research teams.Carefully explore questions of exposuresource and location at the time ofdiagnosis, to identify factors other thantemperature (e.g., socio-economic or otherenvironmental issues) that influence the relationshipof climate change and mortality.Develop standards for diagnostic criteriaassociated with vector-borne diseases.Invest in consistent, long-term monitoringnetworks, with sufficient resolution toanswer research and public health professionals'needs.