Extreme Heat Vulnerability Among Older Adults: a Multilevel Risk Index for Portland, Oregon
Published In
Innovation in Aging
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
12-1-2023
Subjects
Older Adults -- Heat Vulnerability
Abstract
Background and Objectives Extreme heat is an environmental health equity concern disproportionately affecting low-income older adults and people of color. Exposure factors, such as living in rental housing and lack of air conditioning, and sensitivity factors, such as chronic disease and social isolation, increase mortality risk among older adults. Older persons face multiple barriers to adaptive heat mitigation, particularly those living in historically temperate climates. This study measures two heat vulnerability indices to identify areas and individuals most vulnerable to extreme heat and discusses opportunities to mitigate vulnerability among older adults. Research Design and Methods We constructed two heat vulnerability indices for the Portland, OR, metropolitan area: one using area scale proxy measures extracted from existing regional data and another at the individual scale using survey data collected following the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome event. These indices were analyzed using principal component analysis and Geographic Information Systems. Results Results indicate that the spatial distribution of areas and individuals vulnerable to extreme heat are quite different. The only area found among the most vulnerable on both indices has the largest agglomeration of age- and income-
Rights
Copyright © 2024 The Gerontological Society of America
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1093/geront/gnad074
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41708
Citation Details
Kohon, J. N., Tanaka, K., Himes, D., Toda, E., Carder, P. C., & Carlson, B. (2023). Extreme Heat Vulnerability Among Older Adults: A Multilevel Risk Index for Portland, Oregon. The Gerontologist, 64(3).