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Are heat warning systems effective?

Heatwaves are associated with significant health risks particularly among vulnerable groups. To minimize these risks, heat warning systems have been implemented. The question therefore is how effective these systems are in saving lives and reducing heat-related harm. We systematically searched and r...

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Autores principales: Toloo, Ghasem (Sam), FitzGerald, Gerard, Aitken, Peter, Verrall, Kenneth, Tong, Shilu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3626939/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23561265
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-27
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author Toloo, Ghasem (Sam)
FitzGerald, Gerard
Aitken, Peter
Verrall, Kenneth
Tong, Shilu
author_facet Toloo, Ghasem (Sam)
FitzGerald, Gerard
Aitken, Peter
Verrall, Kenneth
Tong, Shilu
author_sort Toloo, Ghasem (Sam)
collection PubMed
description Heatwaves are associated with significant health risks particularly among vulnerable groups. To minimize these risks, heat warning systems have been implemented. The question therefore is how effective these systems are in saving lives and reducing heat-related harm. We systematically searched and reviewed 15 studies which examined this. Six studies asserted that fewer people died of excessive heat after the implementation of heat warning systems. Demand for ambulance decreased following the implementation of these systems. One study also estimated the costs of running heat warning systems at US$210,000 compared to the US$468 million benefits of saving 117 lives. The remaining eight studies investigated people’s response to heat warning systems and taking appropriate actions against heat harms. Perceived threat of heat dangers emerged as the main factor related to heeding the warnings and taking proper actions. However, barriers, such as costs of running air-conditioners, were of significant concern, particularly to the poor. The weight of the evidence suggests that heat warning systems are effective in reducing mortality and, potentially, morbidity. However, their effectiveness may be mediated by cognitive, emotive and socio-demographic characteristics. More research is urgently required into the cost-effectiveness of heat warning systems’ measures and improving the utilization of the services.
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spelling pubmed-36269392013-04-17 Are heat warning systems effective? Toloo, Ghasem (Sam) FitzGerald, Gerard Aitken, Peter Verrall, Kenneth Tong, Shilu Environ Health Commentary Heatwaves are associated with significant health risks particularly among vulnerable groups. To minimize these risks, heat warning systems have been implemented. The question therefore is how effective these systems are in saving lives and reducing heat-related harm. We systematically searched and reviewed 15 studies which examined this. Six studies asserted that fewer people died of excessive heat after the implementation of heat warning systems. Demand for ambulance decreased following the implementation of these systems. One study also estimated the costs of running heat warning systems at US$210,000 compared to the US$468 million benefits of saving 117 lives. The remaining eight studies investigated people’s response to heat warning systems and taking appropriate actions against heat harms. Perceived threat of heat dangers emerged as the main factor related to heeding the warnings and taking proper actions. However, barriers, such as costs of running air-conditioners, were of significant concern, particularly to the poor. The weight of the evidence suggests that heat warning systems are effective in reducing mortality and, potentially, morbidity. However, their effectiveness may be mediated by cognitive, emotive and socio-demographic characteristics. More research is urgently required into the cost-effectiveness of heat warning systems’ measures and improving the utilization of the services. BioMed Central 2013-04-05 /pmc/articles/PMC3626939/ /pubmed/23561265 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-27 Text en Copyright © 2013 Toloo et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Commentary
Toloo, Ghasem (Sam)
FitzGerald, Gerard
Aitken, Peter
Verrall, Kenneth
Tong, Shilu
Are heat warning systems effective?
title Are heat warning systems effective?
title_full Are heat warning systems effective?
title_fullStr Are heat warning systems effective?
title_full_unstemmed Are heat warning systems effective?
title_short Are heat warning systems effective?
title_sort are heat warning systems effective?
topic Commentary
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3626939/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23561265
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-27
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