Fostering resilience among the vulnerable is a must
Extreme weather events could become ever more commonplace as climate change advances, bringing damage both physical and emotional to those in their path. The elderly are particularly vulnerable. In “Health Impact of Climate Change in Older People: An Integrative Review and Implications for Nursing,” PhD candidate Erwin William Leyva, MPH, RN, Adam Beaman, MPH, and Dean Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN, look at profound and unique challenges likely to fall at the feet of nursing caregivers and researchers:
“Heat, temperature variability, and air pollution increase mortality risk in older people, especially from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Floods are linked with increasing incidence of post‐traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Facing these adversities, older people exhibit both vulnerability and resilience.”
Fostering the resilience end of that equation is key, they report, “averting adverse health outcomes through practice and policy.”
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