Social vulnerability indicators to the Health Impacts of Climate Change: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This paper is a scoping review of social vulnerability to the health effects of climate change. The review provides an overview of the state of literature on social vulnerability indicators published in English between 2012 and 2022. An initial corpus of 1307 studies were identified from four bibliographic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and CAB direct) and after screening 205 relevant studies were identified that contained social vulnerability indicators that mediated between climate change impacts and health outcomes. A frequency analysis was conducted to show the overall scope of the research and a thematic analysis of the results was conducted to examine substantive trends within the literature. A total of 125 indicators of social vulnerability were identified yet a relatively small set of indicators received most of the attention. Indicators that operationalized social vulnerability beyond individual and demographic characteristics were found to be under-researched and needed to further support climate resilience and adaptation planning.

The impact of extreme heat and cold on energy poverty

“…The relative vulnerability of these groups can be attributed to a number of overlapping factors: strained financial burdens related to life stage (e.g., child rearing for middle-aged people and lone parents, and renters with high rental costs proportionate to income), relative economic disadvantages (e.g., female headed households, lone parents with children, and low income renters), or poor housing conditions (e.g. poorer housing quality and energy efficiency of rental properties) 6,23 . However, these vulnerabilities can be offset by energy efficient housing.…”

“…Even slight increases in average temperature can have large impacts on the frequency of extreme temperature events 4 . These changes in temperature are disrupting human and ecological domains, with studies showing an array of social and health consequences [5][6][7] . One contentious area of social consequences is the potential of climate change to ease or aggravate the burden of energy hardship and to redistribute the global prevalence of energy poverty.…”

“…Vulnerability to energy poverty is unevenly distributed across populations, and temperature changes do not automatically generate energy poverty 15,21,22 . Evidence suggests that the health sensitivity to extreme temperatures varies according to social vulnerability 6 . Households with low incomes, older people, and people with chronic health conditions and disabilities experience a disproportionate health burden when exposed to extreme temperatures.…”

“…Households with low incomes, older people, and people with chronic health conditions and disabilities experience a disproportionate health burden when exposed to extreme temperatures. Lacking access to infrastructure and quality housing also put households at greater risk of experiencing energy poverty and ill health 6,23 . However, there is a lack of understanding on how climate change will change the distribution of energy poverty, especially who will become vulnerable, which is required to inform climate adaptation and energy policies that ensure a just transition to a decarbonised energy system.…”

How best to diagnose in-home mould exposure: The validity and accuracy of self-reported measures

“…The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that no exposure can be considered safe for health and that dampness and mould should be prevented, or remediated early, to avoid hazardous exposure [1,3]. Climate change and increased frequency and duration of weather-related events such as storms and heavy rain are likely to aggravate exposure [3,5]. The impacts of dampness and mould are unequal across populations, with higher prevalence in substandard housing for lowincome people [1] and private rental and social housing that are in poor states of repair [6].…”