300608
Risk and protective factors of Heat-Related Emergency Department Presentation among older adults of southern Quebec (Canada)
Extreme heat events increase the incidence of heat-related illness and fatality in Canada, in particular among the elderly living in southern areas. Medical, social and environmental predictors of Heat-Related Emergency Department Presentation (HREDP) were examined among this population.
Methods:
This secondary longitudinal study was conducted in the community dwelling cohort of elderly participants (n=1233) of the NuAge longitudinal study living in Eastern Townships, Montreal and Laval (Québec, Canada). Risk factors (health conditions, medication use, social and environmental factors) and protective factors previously identified in Health Canada guidelines were examined. HREDP, obtained from provincial administrative database and merged to the NuAge database, was defined as a visit occurring a day of high temperature (maximum temperature ≥30oC) from May 15 to September 15 (2006-2010). Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the association between risk and protective factors, and HREDP.
Results:
Emergency department presentations were 2.6 times more frequent on hot days than on normal summer days. Health conditions and social risk factors were significantly associated with an increased risk of HREDP. The latter was approximately three times higher in the elderly needing help in activities of daily living (OR=2.66; 95% CI:1.15-6.14) and having family household income <20000$ (OR=3.20; 95% CI:1.16-8.81). Elevated social participation was strongly associated with a decreased risk of HREDP (OR=0.05; 95%CI: 0.01-0.20).
Conclusion:
Our study identified major risk and protective factors of HREDP among elderly of southern Quebec. Results will help stakeholders to identify frail elderly during extreme health event in order to implement targeted prevention strategies.
Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciencesSystems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health
Learning Objectives:
Describe an elderly’s vulnerability model identifying predictors of heat-related outcomes based on Health Canada guidelines.
Identify major risk and protective factors of Heat-Related Emergency Department Presentation.
Keyword(s): Climate and Health, Risk Factors/Assesment
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I work for over than 2 years and a half on heat-related outcome. I presented posters on the subject previously (congress JASP (Annual meetings of public health, 2012); Research day of the Research Center on Aging, 2012) and I also have two articles, peer review, in preparation presently.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.