Towards Improvement of Heatwave Warnings for Older Adults: The Case of Queensland Australia

Abstract

Background: Heatwave warnings provide crucial information about the nature of the event and the steps that can be taken to mitigate its impact. It is well known that heat events disproportionately impact the health of older adults. Therefore, it’s critical that heatwave warnings reach this population. However, our current understanding of the effectiveness of heatwave warning messages among older Queenslanders is limited. Methods: A Queensland wide survey was conducted in 2022 among 547 older adults (≥65 years), aiming to collect information on their perception of heat-related health risk, their knowledge of the existing heatwave warnings, and if they had ever heard of a heatwave warning. Chi-square analysis followed by multinomial or binomial logistic regression was utilized to understand various socio-economic and personal factors that impact the heatwave warning reach to older Queenslanders. Results: Only 43% of the respondents had heard a heatwave warning and only 49% of those who heard a warning(s) changed their behavior as a result. The results showed 20% of respondents perceived themselves to be at heat-related health risk, and these individuals were 1.98 times more likely to have heard heatwave warnings. Further, individuals who perceived themselves to be at heat-related health risk were 3.62 times more likely to adopt adaptive measures in response to heatwave warnings. Implications: This study suggests that in older adults, higher knowledge and perception of heat-related health risk are associated with higher likelihoods of attention to heatwave warnings and adoption of cooling measures.