Poster De Conférence Année : 2023

Heatwaves' impact on social and mental well-being: a qualitative study on elderly women in a french metropolis

Résumé

With increasingly frequent heatwaves, and their amplified effects due to the urban heat island phenomenon, it is crucial to comprehensively assess the heat impacts on human health, including physical, mental, and social well-being, as defined by the WHO. While physical impacts, as heatstroke, dehydration, and exacerbation of chronic illnesses, are relatively well known, mental and social impacts have primarily been studied epidemiologically revealing a rise in mood disorders, mental illnesses, anxiety, violence, and irritability with rising temperatures. The heat impacts on individual mental and social well-being, behaviour, and lifestyle warrant further examination. This study investigates these effects, considering vulnerability factors, especially those linked to the living environment. This survey was designed to qualitatively explore and deeply investigate the context of heat effects, gathering detailed accounts of lived experiences. The focus is on elderly women, particularly vulnerable to heat, potentially socially isolated, but also capable of adaptation. This study compares their three types of housing—independent living facilities, senior communities, and individual dwellings—based on semi-structured interviews with 6 women over 70 years old. Interviews, observations, and repeated visits over the 2022 summer months reveal heat impacts and vulnerability factors which are challenging to study on a large scale. The interviewed women reported physical and mental fatigue and also a lifestyle slowdown with reduced activities and restricted environmental and social surroundings leading to a confinement feeling. Furthermore, the extended duration of heatwaves and their coverage in the media and conversations led to rumination on thoughts about heat. Individual reactions varied in intensity and expression. The most affected women are the most active ones who used to go out daily. This corresponds with those who are less involved in the community. Finally, perspectives to integrate results in a general heat reaction study, examining thermal environment, body responses, and vulnerability factors, will be discussed. Additionally, these qualitative findings could serve as assumptions for a quantitative survey, in order to segregate individual particularities from global phenomena.
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Dates et versions

hal-04920702 , version 1 (30-01-2025)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04920702 , version 1

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Célia Sondaz, Claire Harpet, Frédéric Kuznik, Lucie Merlier. Heatwaves' impact on social and mental well-being: a qualitative study on elderly women in a french metropolis. AGU 23, Dec 2023, San Francisco, United States. 2023. ⟨hal-04920702⟩
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