General Practitioners’ Perceptions of Heat Health Impacts on the Elderly in the Face of Climate Change—A Qualitative Study in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Description

In the face of climate change and an aging population, heat health impacts (HHI) on the elderly are a growing concern. The role of general professionals (GPs) in the health care system is important. In order to inform the development of effective prevention measures (adaptation), it is important to investigate the GPs perception of HHI. Thus qualitative expert interview with 24 GPs were performed and analysed. The results showed that GPs are generally aware of HHI, especially cardiovascular morbidity and volume imbalances. The perception of interviewees and literature diverged from findings in literature in the perception of mortality and impacts on respiratory diseases or potentially risky drugs during heat waves. Most GPs perceived an increase in the relevance of HHI in the future, mostly due to population aging and less due to climate change, mostly because of uncertainty of the future climate development. The findings show that GPs’ knowledge and awareness on HHI and climate change needs to be strengthened as well as the need for more research on HII in the ambulant health care setting. The results of the GPs perceptions also shows that key elements of a climate resilient health care system are strong nursing care and social networks for elderly.

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