Climate action: Transforming research into climate solutions
Designing elderly care networks in a climate-challenged world
Policy & Perspective
Designing elderly care networks in a climate-challenged world
According to the Canadian Climate Institute, Canada is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average. Meanwhile, according to a 2023 report from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the population of Canadians aged 75 years and older is expected to double in the next 20 years. As the climate crisis worsens, this vulnerable group faces unique risks, highlighting the urgent need for targeted climate action that prioritizes the health and well-being of older adults.
During Montreal’s 2018 heatwave, 67% of the 66 people who died due to extreme heat were 65 years of age and older. Of the 619 people who died in the 2021 British Columbia heat dome, 67% were 70 or older. These alarming incidents prompted global management studies professor Mahsa Madani-Hosseini to turn her research toward addressing how climate-induced disasters disproportionately affect older adults in Canada and promoting actionable recommendations. “Current practices are inadequate for reducing the impacts of the climate crisis on older adults within the Canadian context,” she said. “This must be addressed through effective action plans.”
Identifying health inequalities for vulnerable older adults
Professor Madani-Hosseini’s research notes several factors that make older adults particularly vulnerable to climate change. Due to changes in aging bodies, older adults typically struggle to regulate their body temperature and have weakened immune systems. These factors make them more susceptible to heatwaves, dehydration and other health issues. Pre-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and disabilities further complicate their ability to withstand extreme weather.
Her research also finds that many elderly individuals live alone and are unfamiliar with modern technology, making it harder to access emergency alerts. Additionally, many older adults live on fixed incomes and have limited access to cooling systems, transportation or timely evacuation options during disasters. These vulnerabilities create what she calls “health inequality” among older adults in the face of climate change.
Innovating elderly care networks for emergencies
To address these challenges, professor Madani-Hosseini proposes an innovative solution: the Integrated Coverage and Distance Facility Location (ICDFL) model. This novel approach is tailored to address the unique needs of older adults during disasters while considering governmental budget constraints. The model helps design a network of resilient care facilities for the elderly that can deliver timely care during climate-related emergencies like heatwaves, floods or wildfires.
The ICDFL model has two main objectives. One is to maximize health-care coverage to ensure the resilience of elderly health and guide policymakers. The second is to minimize travel distances to ensure rapid response times, considering transportation and service costs faced by government agencies. The demand for this model is estimated in each region based on factors such as the elderly population, average age, frailty and proximity to medical service hubs. This estimation is then refined to enable precise management of both coverage and distance goals.
“The key factor in our model is connecting budget limitations to the shortest possible response time for delivering care,” professor Madani-Hosseini explains. “This approach can guide policymakers in efficiently allocating resources and planning emergency services.”
A hurricane causes flooding in residential streets.
Adaptable, versatile climate crisis solutions
To validate the ICDFL model’s effectiveness, professor Madani-Hosseini and her team applied it to a real-world case study in Southern Ontario. Using Statistics Canada census data from 2021, the study looked at population density, proximity to existing medical facilities and vulnerability to floods and wildfires. It also considered the population distribution of vulnerable older adults across the province and the capacity of existing hospitals to provide specialized treatment.
The study used this data to successfully determine the best location for emergency care units, their ideal capacities and the best assignment of demand nodes – senior citizens who reside in private households or special care facilities. It also provided comparative data between increasing the capacity of existing health-care facilities and building new ones.
The ICDFL model’s recommendations provide policymakers and health-care administrators with data-based guidance for allocating resources efficiently across the province by distributing demand to maximize the capacities of medical facilities. These recommendations will help reduce the potential effects of both pre- and post-disasters on older adults’ health and quality of life. “These findings offer valuable knowledge for health-care policymakers to bolster the robustness of senior health and for government bodies with limited budgets to reduce transportation and service expenses,” said professor Madani-Hosseini.
“The model’s recommendations will also improve emergency preparedness, thus creating a sustainable community for growing elderly populations and improving the well-being of older adults during climate-induced disasters.” The model’s versatility allows other countries with access to relevant data to use it, helping to improve elderly care during climate crises globally.
Looking ahead, professor Madani-Hosseini plans to improve the model by adding additional factors, such as transportation delays or road closures, which can severely hinder emergency services during extreme weather events. This work will use more advanced methods to keep the model focused on real-life problems faced by older adults during climate-related disasters, helping to design resilient cities that address the challenges of elderly care within the context of the climate crisis.
Current practices are inadequate for reducing the impacts of the climate crisis on older adults within the Canadian context. This must be addressed through effective action plans.
This research is supported by a Ted Rogers School of Management Research Advancement Grant.
