Surviving the 2021 heat dome with schizophrenia: A qualitative, interview-based unpacking of risks and vulnerabilities

Liv Yoon, Emily J. Tetzlaff, Tiffany Chiu, Carson Wong, Lucy Hiscox, Dominique Choquette, Samantha Mew, Glen P. Kenny, Randall F. White and Christian G. Schütz

Social Science & Medicine, 2025, vol. 366, issue C

Abstract: This study explores the multifaceted challenges experienced by individuals with schizophrenia during extreme heat, highlighting the interplay between individual factors, social dynamics, and environmental influences. Despite making up only 1% of the Canadian population, individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia comprised 16% (n = 97) of the deaths during the 2021 heat dome in Western Canada. However, to date, there exists scant qualitative research that explore the direct experiences and the intricacies of intersecting factors faced by individuals with schizophrenia during extreme heat events. This study aims to explore experiences of heat by those living with schizophrenia, including social, behavioural and physiological vulnerability factors that may exacerbate heat-related risks.

Keywords: Climate change; Extreme heat; Health inequities; Ill-housed persons; Social isolation; Social determinants of health; Mental disorders; Substance use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624011109
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:366:y:2025:i:c:s0277953624011109

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117656

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().