Global systematic review of how climate change degrades the wellbeing and health of Indigenous children.

```mdx

TL;DR: A global systematic review of 53 studies finds that Indigenous children across diverse regions are experiencing adverse health outcomes linked to climate change, most consistently through heat exposure and seasonal or hydroclimatic variability. The review is a synthesis of the existing evidence base rather than a trial of any intervention, so its findings describe patterns of association and reported outcomes, not causal effect sizes.

What the study found

Climate change is already degrading global health, and Indigenous children are among the populations most exposed to its effects. Despite a growing body of research on climate-related health impacts, the specific vulnerabilities of Indigenous children have been underrepresented in the literature. This systematic review, published in *Globalization and Health*, set out to consolidate the global evidence on how climate change affects the health and wellbeing of Indigenous children, including pregnant women in the included literature.

The authors followed PRISMA guidelines and searched five databases on 2 March 2025. They screened studies collaboratively and appraised them with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Of the eligible studies, 53 met inclusion criteria: 16 qualitative, 23 quantitative non-randomised, 6 quantitative descriptive, and 8 mixed-methods designs. Because the included studies were highly heterogeneous in design, populations, and outcome measures, the authors could not conduct a meta-analysis. Instead, they used a convergent integrated synthesis to map exposure-outcome patterns and a theme-based narrative analysis to interpret them. This methodological choice matters for how the results should be read: the review identifies recurring patterns across the literature, but it does not produce pooled effect estimates.

Five main health outcome domains emerged. The first was psychosocial and cultural wellbeing, which was the most cross-cutting theme and was interconnected with every other health domain in the review. The second was malnutrition. The third was infectious diseases. The fourth was perinatal health, and the fifth was morbidity and mortality. The authors note that this interconnectedness reflects how many Indigenous communities conceptualise health: as relational, encompassing connection to land, culture, community, and family rather than as a set of separable physical endpoints. Accordingly, most included studies addressed multiple climate exposures and multiple outcomes at once.

Heat exposure and seasonal and hydroclimatic variability were the climate exposures most frequently linked to child health outcomes in the review. The authors conclude that Indigenous children across diverse contexts are experiencing adverse climate-related health outcomes. They also stress that the evidence base remains uneven. Many studies are concentrated in particular regions, and the authors call for more geographically diverse, disaggregated, and methodologically rigorous research. The number of qualitative studies is a notable feature: it reflects the value of community-centred inquiry, but it also means that quantified associations across settings are limited.

The review argues that its findings should inform culturally grounded, strengths-based responses that engage Indigenous Knowledge systems and younger generations, rather than generic adaptation frameworks. This is a recommendation about how research and policy should be designed, and it is one the authors derive from the synthesis itself and from their stated commitment to ongoing Indigenous engagement.

What this means for you

This review is primarily relevant to researchers, public health planners, and policymakers, and its most direct implications are structural rather than individual. It does not test any supplement or habit, and nothing in it establishes that any personal intervention protects Indigenous children from climate-related harm.

For parents, clinicians, and community health workers working with Indigenous children, the review points to a few practical considerations grounded in its findings:

The review also has clear limitations to keep in mind. It synthesises heterogeneous, mostly non-randomised and descriptive evidence, so it cannot quantify how much any given climate exposure contributes to any given outcome. It also reflects the geographic and methodological gaps in the existing literature, meaning that some regions and outcomes are better represented than others.

Study details

Sources

1. Global systematic review of how climate change degrades the wellbeing and health of Indigenous children. *Globalization and Health*. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42881393/

```