A public health needs assessment for domestic indoor overheating

Abstract

Objectives: Indoor overheating is a potentially fatal health hazard that was identified as an issue requiring urgent action in the 2017 UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. We aimed to make research on this issue more accessible to local public health teams to encourage its inclusion in local strategic needs assessments.

Study design: Epidemiological health needs assessment.

Methods: We adapted established health needs assessment methods, focussing on the epidemiological component, drawing evidence from a non-systematic literature review that was complemented by discussion with experts.

Results: Indoor overheating arises from an interaction between occupants' susceptibility to heat, their behaviour and the building's location and its characteristics. Many of these factors are interrelated and, at a national level, are expected to vary over time with demographic and climate change. Understanding these factors, ways to mitigate them and a long-term view are all essential for managing overheating risk.

Conclusions: There is a need for services to be provided at the local level that consider the home environment and its impact on health in all seasons. A population-level approach to risk management across a local area is also useful to inform collaborative efforts to reduce future incidence of overheating and better understand how it varies with socio-economic deprivation.

Keywords: Climate change; Energy efficiency; Epidemiology; Health needs assessment; Heat risk groups; Heat waves; Indoor overheating.