Heat and human health: an integrated approach

This paper reports on an integrated approach for assessing threats to human health from excess environmental heat. As a case study we focus, first, on Detroit, Michigan, with plans to extend the research to other cities around the country. The research team is drawn from public health, atmospheric science, and social science. We build on the knowledge base of current heat health warning systems.

Effective methods to address health threats to humans by excess heat require the use of environmental observations, measures of the built environment, and the identification of vulnerable populations. Health threats then need to be communicated not only to the public, but to the network of first providers and social structures that form communities. In all aspects, the information and response are specific to a region.

Our research is focused on using high resolution environmental observations and information about the built environment to identify areas of potential high heat exposure, relative to other areas within metropolitan Detroit. This is then combined with census data to identify populations vulnerable to heat because of both exposure and socio-demographic features. Interview-based research is being used to optimize communication of potential threats. In this presentation we discuss the use of networks of temperature and humidity measures to refine the designation of heat events provided by standard observations from Detroit Metro Airport. We demonstrate how the integration of stakeholders' perspectives in research leads to changes in analysis of environmental observations to address more effectively the needs of the stakeholders.

This research is supported by the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R18 EH000348-01)