IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i19p12446-d929566.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Heat Exposure, Heat-Related Symptoms and Coping Strategies among Elderly Residents of Urban Slums and Rural Vilages in West Bengal, India

Author

Listed:
  • Barun Mukhopadhyay

    (Biological Anthropology Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700 108, India
    Indian Anthropological Society, Kolkata 700 019, India)

  • Charles A. Weitz

    (Department of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA)

Abstract

The impact of heat stress among the elderly in India—particularly the elderly poor—has received little or no attention. Consequently, their susceptibility to heat-related illnesses is virtually unknown, as are the strategies they use to avoid, or deal with, the heat. This study examined perceptions of comfort, heat-related symptoms, and coping behaviors of 130 elderly residents of Kolkata slums and 180 elderly residents of rural villages south of Kolkata during a 90-day period when the average 24-h heat indexes were between 38.6 °C and 41.8 °C. Elderly participants in this study reported being comfortable under relatively warm conditions—probably explained by acclimatization to the high level of experienced heat stress. The prevalence of most heat-related symptoms was significantly greater among elderly women, who also were more likely to report multiple symptoms and more severe symptoms. Elderly women in the rural villages were exposed to significantly hotter conditions during the day than elderly men, making it likely that gender differences in symptom frequency, number and severity were related to gender differences in heat stress. Elderly men and elderly village residents made use of a greater array of heat-coping behaviors and exhibited fewer heat-related symptoms than elderly women and elderly slum residents. Overall, heat measurements and heat-related symptoms were less likely to be significant predictors of most coping strategies than personal characteristics, building structures and location. This suggests that heat-coping behaviors during hot weather were the result of complex, culturally influenced decisions based on many different considerations besides just heat stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Barun Mukhopadhyay & Charles A. Weitz, 2022. "Heat Exposure, Heat-Related Symptoms and Coping Strategies among Elderly Residents of Urban Slums and Rural Vilages in West Bengal, India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12446-:d:929566
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12446/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12446/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J Bradley Layton & Wenhong Li & Jiacan Yuan & Joshua P Gilman & Daniel B Horton & Soko Setoguchi, 2020. "Heatwaves, medications, and heat-related hospitalization in older Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Anna Malmquist & Mattias Hjerpe & Erik Glaas & Hulda Karlsson-Larsson & Tina Lassi, 2022. "Elderly People’s Perceptions of Heat Stress and Adaptation to Heat: An Interview Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Suresh Kumar Rathi & Soham Chakraborty & Saswat Kishore Mishra & Ambarish Dutta & Lipika Nanda, 2021. "A Heat Vulnerability Index: Spatial Patterns of Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity for Urbanites of Four Cities of India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Qi Zhao & Shanshan Li & Micheline S Z S Coelho & Paulo H N Saldiva & Kejia Hu & Rachel R Huxley & Michael J Abramson & Yuming Guo, 2019. "The association between heatwaves and risk of hospitalization in Brazil: A nationwide time series study between 2000 and 2015," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(2), pages 1-16, February.
    5. John Horn, 1965. "A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 30(2), pages 179-185, June.
    6. Sanjay Kumar & Manoj Kumar Singh & Nedhal Al-Tamimi & Badr S. Alotaibi & Mohammed Awad Abuhussain, 2022. "Investigation on Subjects’ Seasonal Perception and Adaptive Actions in Naturally Ventilated Hostel Dormitories in the Composite Climate Zone of India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Kathryn Glass & Peter W. Tait & Elizabeth G. Hanna & Keith Dear, 2015. "Estimating Risks of Heat Strain by Age and Sex: A Population-Level Simulation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, May.
    8. Jonathan Chambers, 2020. "Global and cross-country analysis of exposure of vulnerable populations to heatwaves from 1980 to 2018," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 539-558, November.
    9. Indraganti, Madhavi, 2010. "Thermal comfort in naturally ventilated apartments in summer: Findings from a field study in Hyderabad, India," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 866-883, March.
    10. Monika Nitschke & Alana Hansen & Peng Bi & Dino Pisaniello & Jonathan Newbury & Alison Kitson & Graeme Tucker & Jodie Avery & Eleonora Dal Grande, 2013. "Risk Factors, Health Effects and Behaviour in Older People during Extreme Heat: A Survey in South Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, December.
    11. Kathy V. Tran & Gulrez S. Azhar & Rajesh Nair & Kim Knowlton & Anjali Jaiswal & Perry Sheffield & Dileep Mavalankar & Jeremy Hess, 2013. "A Cross-Sectional, Randomized Cluster Sample Survey of Household Vulnerability to Extreme Heat among Slum Dwellers in Ahmedabad, India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-29, June.
    12. Joost van Hoof & Helen Bennetts & Alana Hansen & Jan K. Kazak & Veronica Soebarto, 2019. "The Living Environment and Thermal Behaviours of Older South Australians: A Multi-Focus Group Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-19, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pablo De Gea Grela & Diego Sánchez-González & Lorena Patricia Gallardo Peralta, 2024. "Urban and Rural Environments and Their Implications for Older Adults’ Adaptation to Heat Waves: A Systematic Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-29, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Juliane Kemen & Silvia Schäffer-Gemein & Johanna Grünewald & Thomas Kistemann, 2021. "Heat Perception and Coping Strategies: A Structured Interview-Based Study of Elderly People in Cologne, Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Jan C. Semenza, 2014. "Climate Change and Human Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-7, July.
    3. Lipika Nanda & Soham Chakraborty & Saswat Kishore Mishra & Ambarish Dutta & Suresh Kumar Rathi, 2022. "Characteristics of Households’ Vulnerability to Extreme Heat: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study from India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-14, November.
    4. Pablo De Gea Grela & Diego Sánchez-González & Lorena Patricia Gallardo Peralta, 2024. "Urban and Rural Environments and Their Implications for Older Adults’ Adaptation to Heat Waves: A Systematic Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-29, August.
    5. Maria Lidia Mascia & Mirian Agus & Łukasz Tomczyk & Natale Salvatore Bonfiglio & Diego Bellini & Maria Pietronilla Penna, 2023. "Smartphone Distraction: Italian Validation of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Patrick Hylton & Ben Kisby & Paul Goddard, 2018. "Young People’s Citizen Identities: A Q-Methodological Analysis of English Youth Perceptions of Citizenship in Britain," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Monika Nitschke & Antoinette Krackowizer & Alana L. Hansen & Peng Bi & Graeme R. Tucker, 2017. "Heat Health Messages: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Preventative Messages Tool in the Older Population of South Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-10, August.
    8. Van Acker, Veronique & Ho, Loan & Stevens, Larissa & Mulley, Corinne, 2020. "Quantifying the effects of childhood and previous residential experiences on the use of public transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Orazio Attanasio & Sarah Cattan & Emla Fitzsimons & Costas Meghir & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2020. "Estimating the Production Function for Human Capital: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Colombia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(1), pages 48-85, January.
    10. Leiv Gabrielsen & Pål Ulleberg & Reidulf Watten, 2012. "The Adolescent Life Goal Profile Scale: Development of a New Scale for Measurements of Life Goals Among Young People," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(6), pages 1053-1072, December.
    11. Franke, Nikolaus & Shah, Sonali, 2003. "How communities support innovative activities: an exploration of assistance and sharing among end-users," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 157-178, January.
    12. Elise Verot & Paul Bonjean & Robin Chaux & Julie Gagnaire & Amandine Gagneux-Brunon & Bruno Pozzetto & Philippe Berthelot & Elisabeth Botelho-Nevers & Franck Chauvin, 2022. "Development and Validation of the COVID-19 Knowledges and Behavior Questionnaire in a French Population (CoVQuest-CC)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-22, February.
    13. Zaitun Mohd Saman & Ab Hamid Siti-Azrin & Azizah Othman & Yee Cheng Kueh, 2021. "The Validity and Reliability of the Malay Version of the Cyberbullying Scale among Secondary School Adolescents in Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-12, November.
    14. Marcin Gąsior, 2021. "Environmental Attitudes and Willingness to Purchase Online—Classification Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-17, August.
    15. Michele Villa & Colette Balice-Bourgois & Angela Tolotti & Anna Falcó-Pegueroles & Serena Barello & Elena Corina Luca & Luca Clivio & Annette Biegger & Dario Valcarenghi & Loris Bonetti, 2021. "Ethical Conflict and Its Psychological Correlates among Hospital Nurses in the Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study within Swiss COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Wards," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-14, November.
    16. Harbatkin, Erica & Strunk, Katharine O. & McIlwain, Aliyah, 2023. "School turnaround in a pandemic: An examination of the outsized implications of COVID-19 on low-performing turnaround schools, districts, and their communities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    17. Walter Renner & Maximilian Wertz, 2015. "Valence and Efficacy: The Affective Meanings of Human Values and their Relationship to Moral Decisions," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 5(6), pages 44-55, June.
    18. Fernando Bucheli, 2021. "Before Entering Adulthood: Developing an Index of Capabilities for Young Adults in Bogota," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 965-1002, June.
    19. Yoo, Sun-Young & Vonk, M. Elizabeth, 2012. "The development and initial validation of the Immigrant Parental Stress Inventory (IPSI) in a sample of Korean immigrant parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 989-998.
    20. Varsamo Antoniou & Konstantinos Pasias & Nektarios Loukidis & Kalliopi K. Exarchou-Kouveli & Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos & Sherry L. Grace & Garyfallia Pepera, 2023. "Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Validation of the Greek Version of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (CRBS-GR): What Are the Barriers in South-East Europe?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-10, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12446-:d:929566. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.