Climate change and health in urban informal settlements in low- and middle-income countries – a scoping review of health impacts and adaptation strategies

Abstract

Background : Climate change affects human health with those with the least resources being most vulnerable. However, little is known about the impact of climate change on human health and effective adaptation methods in informal settlements in low- and middle-income countries. Objective : The objective of this scoping review was to identify, characterize, and summarize research evidence on the impact of climate change on human health in informal settlements and the available adaptation methods and interventions. Method : A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O’Malley framework. The four bibliographic databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched. Eligibility criteria were all types of peer-reviewed publications reporting on climate change or related extreme weather events (as defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), informal settlements (as defined by UN-Habitat), low- and middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) and immediate human health impacts. Review selection and characterization were performed by two independent reviewers using a predefined form. Results : Out of 1197 studies initially identified, 15 articles were retained. We found nine original research articles, and six reviews, commentaries, and editorials. The articles were reporting on the exposures flooding, temperature changes and perceptions of climate change with health outcomes broadly categorized as mental health, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases. Six studies had a geographical focus on Asia, four on Africa, and one on South America, the remaining four articles had no geographical focus. One article investigated an adaptation method for heat exposure. Serval other adaptation methods were proposed, though they were not investigated by the articles in this review. Conclusion : There is a paucity of original research and solid study designs. Further studies are needed to improve the understanding of the impact, the most effective adaptation methods and to inform policy making.

Co-developing evidence-informed adaptation actions for resilient citywide sanitation: Local government response to climate change in Indonesia

“…More elaborate approaches stress test options under different climate scenarios, to support decisions and trade-offs between robustness, cost, safety margins, flexibility and regret (Hallegatte et al, 2019). A key consideration is to ensure, as was done in our study, that attention is focused on those people most likely to be exposed to climate impacts, and who may have lower ability to cope and adapt (Levy et al, 2018;Højgaard Borg et al, 2021).…”

Perspectives of Local Community Leaders, Health Care Workers, Volunteers, Policy Makers and Academia on Climate Change Related Health Risks in Mukuru Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya—A Qualitative Study

“…There are major knowledge gaps on how to guide and develop interventions to improve climate change adaptation and resilience in relation to health at the local community level. A review of the literature from 2020 on health implications of climate change found just seven studies on climate change and health in LMICs [20]. The review identified studies reporting on food insecurity [21][22][23], water insecurity [22,23], illness [23][24][25], mental health [23], injuries from extreme weather events [22], and heat-exposure [26] related to climate change.…”

Mental health and climate change in Africa

“…Many perceived environmental stressors resulting from changes in climate directly affect brain function and mental well-being, as seen in studies showing that people living in flooded areas reported poor mental health as well as the more commonly reported physical ailments. 8…”

“…Many perceived environmental stressors resulting from changes in climate directly affect brain function and mental well-being, as seen in studies showing that people living in flooded areas reported poor mental health as well as the more commonly reported physical ailments. 8 Common outcomes of intense or persistent stressors include anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation and depression. 9 There is evidence supporting the correlation of extreme heat with violent behaviour towards themselves and others, increased rates of suicide and hospital admissions for self-harm, and tripled risk of mortality for those with pre-existing mental health conditions.…”