University heat project cuts medical emergencies for Hong Kong’s vulnerable elderly
Nurses and social workers visited older residents living in poorer districts to teach them ways to stay cool and avoid health risks tied to heat
A project designed to teach elderly residents how to protect themselves during extreme heat has improved their health and reduced medical emergencies, according to researchers.
Results from the first two years of the three-year “Beat the Heat” project, released by the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Thursday, showed that tailored home interventions led to a 132 per cent increase in knowledge among older residents regarding heat-related health risks, alongside a 37 per cent reduction in related illnesses.
“In a city where summers are getting hotter, it is not just the temperature that matters, it is whether an older adult has the physical reserves to cope,” said Professor Jean Woo, director of the university’s Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, which is leading the project.
Funded by the club’s charities trust, researchers tracked the health of more than 1,500 residents with an average age of 77 living across Kwun Tong and Yau Tsim Mong – two districts where high population and building density can create an “urban heat island” effect.
Staff members from the Christian Family Service Centre and the Hong Kong Red Cross created vulnerability profiles of the participants using seven metrics: frailty, medication use, living arrangements, whether they lived alone, ability to go out independently, financial situation and age.