Climate Change and Heat Impacts Resources
Vulnerable populations summary Population Physiologic mechanism Social/Structural factor Clinical action Older adults (≥65) ↓ cardiac reserve ↓ sweating ↓ thirst perception Social isolation Fixed income Medication review Cooling plan Daily check-ins Chronic disease Varies by condition (e.g., CHF: ↓ cardiac output) Healthcare access barriers Medication costs Disease-specific counseling on heat impacts Low-income communities Often compounded […]
Edit CBL case in InDesign
Open the case Open the InDesign file in your Finder. Navigate in the file Find the page in the Pages palette on the right side of your screen. Keyboard command: Cmd + J Work in the Story Editor Using the Selection tool ( black arrow), click the text box that you want to edit. Using […]
Orbit, eyelids, and lacrimal apparatus
Optional reading Clinically Oriented Anatomy, 9th ed., Head chapter, Orbits, eyeball, and accessory visual structures section through Lacrimal apparatus; Extra-ocular muscles of orbit section through Surface anatomy of eye and lacrimal apparatus. The orbit is the bony “eye socket” that contains the eyeball, extra-ocular muscles, nerves and vessels, and the lacrimal gland. It is protected […]
The 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome
In late June 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced an unprecedented extreme heat event. A strong high-pressure “heat dome” parked over the region around June 25–30, 2021, leading to record-shattering temperatures: Lytton, BC: 121°F (49.6°C), the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada. Seattle, WA: 108°F (42.2°C), in a city where June highs are usually in the […]
Case Study: Heat Wave Preparedness
alert A heat wave is forecasted for Washington State (expected temperatures 100–105°F for five consecutive days). Your clinic has asked you to help prioritize which patients should receive proactive outreach calls with heat safety counseling before the heat wave arrives. You have limited time and can only reach three of the following five patients today. […]
Protecting Health During Extreme Heat
Both public health measures at the community level and clinical interventions at the patient level are essential for preventing heat-related illness and deaths. Public health and community response Heat alerts and early warnings Meteorologists can often predict heat waves 3–7 days in advance. Public health agencies issue excessive heat warnings with clear messaging about severity. […]
Understand Vulnerable Populations
In a previous section In the Extreme Weather Hazards module (Vulnerability and Preparedness), you were introduced to vulnerable populations affected by heat (elderly, chronically ill, infants, outdoor workers, and those without access to air conditioning). Now we’ll examine the specific physiologic and social mechanisms that create this vulnerability—knowledge you’ll need for clinical counseling and targeted […]
Clinical Recognition and Managment
How extreme heat harms the body Humans maintain a core body temperature around 37°C (98.6°F) through thermoregulation (sweating, increased blood flow to skin). However, these cooling mechanisms can be overwhelmed in extreme environmental heat, especially with high humidity or dehydration. Clinical comparison: heat exhaustion vs. heat stroke Feature Heat exhaustion Heat stroke Core temperature Usually […]
Introduction to Heat Impacts
Connect to prior learning In the Extreme Weather Hazard module, section: Droughts and Extreme Heat Waves, you learned that heat waves are one type of extreme weather event, and you were introduced to vulnerable populations affected by heat. This module builds on that foundation by examining heat as a chronic and recurrent public health threat—not […]
Climate Change and Heat Impacts
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