Effective Community-Based Interventions for the Prevention and Management of Heat-Related Illnesses

Abstract

Extreme temperatures have negative consequences on the environment, ecosystem, and human health. With recent increases in global temperatures, there has been a rise in the burden of heat-related illnesses, with a disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income countries. Effective population-level interventions are critical to a successful public health response. This scoping review aims to summarise the evidence on the effectiveness of population-level heat-related interventions and serve as a potential guide to the implementation of these interventions. It concludes that heat action plans have shown promising results in reducing heat-related mortality and morbidity. Action plans have included instituting early warning systems, building local capacity to identify, prevent or treat and manage heat-related illnesses, and disseminating information. Nevertheless, these need to be cost-effective, easy to maintain, and should be specifically structured to meet the local needs and resources of the community and ideally not reliant on a mass effort from people. This research was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme