Climate change is expected to result in an increase in hot temperatures (e.g., the number of hot days in the summer), and these changes can result in poorer health. As a result, there is a need for research on how climate change affects people differently depending on factors such as age (i.e., for children and older adults), sex/gender (men and women), their socio-economic situation, their ethnic/cultural background or immigrant status, or their current health (i.e., those with existing health conditions).
In addition, living in large cities may increase their risk for poor health outcomes. As hot temperatures may affect people and communities differently, it is important to determine which groups are the most vulnerable, so appropriate steps can be taken to lower their risk of illness or death. To answer these questions, we will use several clinical and administrative datasets and population cohorts from Statistics Canada, ICES, and Health Canada, as well as environmental data from Environment Canada and the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium.
The results of this study can contribute to policy development for a national surveillance system, and targeted local public health strategies that can be used to reduce the health impacts of climate change, particularly for vulnerable groups.