Only 25% of older Queenslanders are aware of the risks heatwaves pose to their health, new research shows

Parts of Australia are currently struggling extreme heatand high temperatures will proceed in the coming days.

While it’s unclear what exactly the upcoming summer will bring, climate change does mean Australian summer they are getting hotter. Even this 12 months, temperatures in August reached around 40°C in some parts of the country.

Heatwaves aren’t just unpleasant – they may be deadly. Extreme heat-related health crises are placing significant strain on our health care systems, and data shows they are increasing calling an ambulance AND hospital presentations during these periods.

While heatwaves can affect anyone, older people are particularly in danger. But ours new research found that older Queenslanders don’t necessarily imagine that heat poses a risk to their health. And this affects how they respond to emergency warnings.

Older people and warmth

Aging causes physiological changes, including reduced ability to work regulate body temperaturewhich may put older people at increased risk of problems akin to heat exhaustion and warmth stroke.

Exposure to heat can as well worsen symptoms existing conditions, akin to heart, lung or kidney disease, which are more common in older people.

There is a risk even clearer for older individuals who live in substandard housing, are in an economically disadvantaged situation or are socially isolated.

Report from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that of the 2,150 hospitalizations due to extreme heat in 2019–2022, 37% were in people aged 65 and over (which constitute approximately 16% of the population).

There is subsequently an urgent need to prioritize the health of older Australians, and the country is preparing for this more intense and long-lasting heatwaves in the future.

Early warning systems

As we’ve learned more about the dangers of heatwaves, there was greater emphasis on developing population-based early warning systems. These systems play a key role in encouraging people to adopt heat-protective behaviors, akin to staying hydrated, avoiding strenuous physical activity in high temperatures, and wearing loose or lightweight clothing.

Queensland is one of the best in the world the most vulnerable regions for warmth waves. Since 2015, heat wave warnings have been part of the state’s warnings heatwave subplanwhich identifies strategies to manage and mitigate the effects of extreme heat.

These warnings include notices of upcoming high temperatures and advice to stay calm. They appear as notifications via the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather app, media or social media. However, it shouldn’t be clear whether these warnings reach those most in danger.

As part A wider project about extreme heat and the elderly – we conducted a survey 547 Queenslanders aged 65 and over to understand their perception of heat risks and whether or not they are receiving heatwave warnings.

We also wanted to understand what aspects influence how people receive and respond to warnings to understand how we will improve heatwave warnings for this group.

What we found

Only 25% of respondents were aware of the potential consequences of heat waves on their health. The majority of participants (80%) perceived themselves as being at lower risk compared to others in their age group. That’s right previous research on thermal health Which found similarly often older people do not feel warm as a private risk.

Although the majority of the sample (87%) reported affected by a number of chronic diseases, 30% didn’t realize that having a chronic disease increases their vulnerability to heatwaves.

Several cultural and private aspects may explain why older people don’t imagine that heat poses a threat to them. In Australia, heat is normally perceived as normal, even positive part of life. Heat advisories are often less urgent than warnings about other natural disasters.

We also found that just about half of respondents had not heard the heatwave warning. Of those that did, about half took steps to stay calm.

Our evaluation showed that participants’ awareness and actions in response to heat wave warnings were significantly influenced by their knowledge and perception of heat-related risks. Factors akin to age, gender and education weren’t that vital.

Respondents who believed they were in danger were almost twice as likely to hear warnings and three.6 times more likely to take motion to protect themselves from heat.

That’s right other research which highlights the correlation between heat and health risk perception and the effectiveness of heat wave warnings.

One limitation of our study is that we conducted it during and after 2022 La Nina periodwhere temperatures are often lower. Therefore, there can have been fewer heat wave warnings throughout the season, potentially reducing participants’ perceptions of heat-related health risks.

What needs to be modified?

With one other hot summer likely to come, we want to rethink how we communicate about heatwaves. It’s greater than just hot days. We must recognize heatwaves as a serious health risk, especially for older people, and effectively communicate these risks to the public.

This may include using primary care employees akin to GPs, nurses and pharmacists to share heat-related health information with older patients and their members of the family or developing personalized heat motion plans for the summer.

Text alerts from the Bureau of Meteorology together with app notifications could also be a very good idea, provided that some older adults may not have a smartphone or be open to using the app.

To improve communication during heatwaves, we also need to investigate barriers and facilitators Down heat protective behaviors. This includes considering structural aspects (akin to housing design), environmental aspects (akin to access to shade and funky shelters), individual aspects (akin to financial constraints or health conditions), and social aspects (akin to access to family and community support). .

Strengthening communication about heatwaves and health is not going to only protect individual well-being, but increase community resilience as extreme heat continues to impact our lives.