Heat Illness and Extreme Weather Health Literacy: Communication Preferences and Effectiveness for Patients Living in Climate-Change-Vulnerable Communities

Todd L. Sack (), Aran R. Thiravialingam, Carlos Suanes Zubizarreta, Robby Felix, Rita Kanazeh, Innah Lachica, Eddy Hernandez Cuesta, Alan Martin, Frederick Anderson and Cheryl Holder
Additional contact information
Todd L. Sack: Department of Translational Medicine, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Aran R. Thiravialingam: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Carlos Suanes Zubizarreta: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Robby Felix: Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Rita Kanazeh: Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Innah Lachica: School of Medicine, St. George’s University, Saint George’s P.O. Box 7, Saint George’s Parish, Grenada
Eddy Hernandez Cuesta: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Alan Martin: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Frederick Anderson: Department of Medical Education, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Cheryl Holder: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Health professionals are trusted information sources and could be valuable for improving climate change health literacy. Few studies address teaching patients about health risks associated with climate change, and no studies have focused on the medical office waiting room as a teaching site for populations from heat-vulnerable neighborhoods. We gave adult patients in primary care office waiting rooms printed teaching materials about heat-related illnesses. We asked them to read these at home and then complete an online confidential survey concerning their preferences among teaching methods and their preferences for communication during health emergencies. Ninety-one surveys were received from patients residing in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods. Patients liked receiving information in waiting rooms. Printed brochures were favored statistically by patients, but other teaching methods that are feasible for waiting rooms also rated well, including single-page printed fliers, posters, and video screens. Digital options were far less favored. We conclude that printed teaching materials may improve decisions that impact human health. The medical office waiting room appears to be an accepted, time-efficient, and effective site to communicate knowledge on climate change and health. Additionally, medical offices could play a role supporting government agencies to communicate with patients during weather-related health emergencies.

Keywords: health education; health promotion; health literacy; climate change; extreme heat; heat-related illness; environmental justice; health emergency; behavioral change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/434/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/434/ (text/html)

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:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:434-:d:1612648

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().