182084 Implications of elevated temperatures in health surveillance

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 5:15 PM

Patrick Phelan, PhD , National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate + Energy, and the Dept. of Mech. & Aero. Engr., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Jay Golden, PhD , National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate + Energy, the School of Sustainability, & the CEE Dept., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Humberto Silva , National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate + Energy, and the Dept. of Mech. & Aero. Engr., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Donna Hartz , National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate + Energy, and the School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Chona Sister, PhD , Global Institute Of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
J. Rafael Pacheco, PhD , Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Bernadette Phelan, PhD , National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute, Inc., Alexandria, VA
George Luber, PhD , National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, GA
Increasing concern over the health implications of global climate change necessitates the need to better monitor the impacts of our changing climate on health, especially paying attention to the proportion of the population most vulnerable. The present study examines the relationship of heat-related incidents in the City of Phoenix, Arizona from 2001 to 2006 relative to heat-climate variables, as well as relative to the socio-economic characteristics of the places where these incidents occurred. The 5th largest city in the United States, the City of Phoenix, with its building concentration and paved surfaces, has been subject to a worsening urban heat island (UHI) effect; this, coupled with the increasing severity of heat events due to climate change have served to compromise many residents' health condition. From a series of statistical and GIS analyses, we present here the population-level risk factors to heat events in the City of Phoenix, and show where these risk factors are concentrated in the City. A predictive model of the urban temperature that allows the simulation of how specific mitigating factors can alleviate elevated temperatures is also introduced. The presentation will conclude with some policy implications that call for close collaboration between emergency responders and public health researchers engaged in heat-related studies.

Learning Objectives:
• Quantify how elevated temperatures lead to heat-related health emergencies • Understand the relationship between socioeconomic variables and heat-related health emergencies • Recognize how urban planning choices can help mitigate high temperature episodes

Keywords: Climate Change, Urban Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a faculty member for more than 15 years, and presently I am a Co-PI on a CDC grant involving elevated temperatures and public health.
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.

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