Social Interventions to Prevent Heat-Related Mortality in the Older Adult in Rome, Italy: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Giuseppe Liotta, Maria Chiara Inzerilli, Leonardo Palombi, Olga Madaro, Stefano Orlando, Paola Scarcella, Daniela Betti and Maria Cristina Marazzi
Additional contact information
Giuseppe Liotta: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”—Via Montpellier 1, 00173 Roma, Italy
Maria Chiara Inzerilli: Community of Sant’Egidio, “Long Live the Elderly” Program—Via San Gallicano 25, 00153 Roma, Italy
Leonardo Palombi: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”—Via Montpellier 1, 00173 Roma, Italy
Olga Madaro: Community of Sant’Egidio, “Long Live the Elderly” Program—Via San Gallicano 25, 00153 Roma, Italy
Stefano Orlando: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”—Via Montpellier 1, 00173 Roma, Italy
Paola Scarcella: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”—Via Montpellier 1, 00173 Roma, Italy
Daniela Betti: Community of Sant’Egidio, “Long Live the Elderly” Program—Via San Gallicano 25, 00153 Roma, Italy
Maria Cristina Marazzi: Department of Human Studies, LUMSA University—Via Della Traspontina 21, 00193 Roma, Italy

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: This study focuses on the impact of a program aimed at reducing heat-related mortality among older adults residing in central Rome by counteracting social isolation. The mortality of citizens over the age of 75 living in three Urban Areas (UAs) located in central Rome is compared with that of the residents of four adjacent UAs during the summer of 2015. The data, broken down by UA, were provided by the Statistical Office of the Municipality of Rome, which gathers them on a routine basis. During the summer of 2015, 167 deaths were recorded in those UAs in which the Long Live the Elderly (LLE) program was active and 169 in those in which it was not, implying cumulative mortality rates of 25‰ (SD ± 1.4; Cl 95%: 23–29) and 29‰ (SD ± 6.7; Cl 95%: 17–43), respectively. Relative to the summer of 2014, the increase of deaths during the summer of 2015 was greater in UAs in which the LLE program had not been implemented (+97.3% vs. +48.8%). In conclusion, the paper shows the impact of a community-based active monitoring program, focused on strengthening individual relationship networks and the social capital of the community, on mortality in those over 75 during heat waves.

Keywords: heat-related mortality; older adults; social care program; urban environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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