The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea
Many cities and countries have implemented heat wave warning systems to combat the health effects of extreme heat. Little is known about whether these systems actually reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality. We examined the effectiveness of heat wave alerts and health plans in reducing the mort...
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doaj-6364f7e47536479aa044dbfd2c995f5a2020-11-25T00:28:04ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012019-06-011612224510.3390/ijerph16122245ijerph16122245The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in KoreaSeulkee Heo0Amruta Nori-Sarma1Kwonsang Lee2Tarik Benmarhnia3Francesca Dominici4Michelle L. Bell5School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USASchool of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USAHarvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USADepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USAHarvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USASchool of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USAMany cities and countries have implemented heat wave warning systems to combat the health effects of extreme heat. Little is known about whether these systems actually reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality. We examined the effectiveness of heat wave alerts and health plans in reducing the mortality risk of heat waves in Korea by utilizing the discrepancy between the alerts and the monitored temperature. A difference-in-differences analysis combined with propensity score weighting was used. Mortality, weather monitoring, and heat wave alert announcement data were collected for 7 major cities during 2009−2014. Results showed evidence of risk reduction among people aged 19−64 without education (−0.144 deaths/1,000,000 people, 95% CI: −0.227, −0.061) and children aged 0−19 (−0.555 deaths/1,000,000 people, 95% CI: −0.993, −0.117). Decreased cardiovascular and respiratory mortality was found in several subgroups including single persons, widowed people, blue-collar workers, people with no education or the highest level of education (university or higher). No evidence was found for decreased all-cause mortality in the population (1.687 deaths/1,000,000 people per day; 95% CI: 1.118, 2.255). In conclusion, heat wave alerts may reduce mortality for several causes and subpopulations of age and socio-economic status. Further work needs to examine the pathways through which the alerts impact subpopulations differently.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/12/2245hot temperaturemortalityheat wavesextreme heatclimate changequasi-experimentvulnerabilityadaptationheat action plans |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Seulkee Heo Amruta Nori-Sarma Kwonsang Lee Tarik Benmarhnia Francesca Dominici Michelle L. Bell |
spellingShingle |
Seulkee Heo Amruta Nori-Sarma Kwonsang Lee Tarik Benmarhnia Francesca Dominici Michelle L. Bell The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health hot temperature mortality heat waves extreme heat climate change quasi-experiment vulnerability adaptation heat action plans |
author_facet |
Seulkee Heo Amruta Nori-Sarma Kwonsang Lee Tarik Benmarhnia Francesca Dominici Michelle L. Bell |
author_sort |
Seulkee Heo |
title |
The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea |
title_short |
The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea |
title_full |
The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea |
title_fullStr |
The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Use of a Quasi-Experimental Study on the Mortality Effect of a Heat Wave Warning System in Korea |
title_sort |
use of a quasi-experimental study on the mortality effect of a heat wave warning system in korea |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2019-06-01 |
description |
Many cities and countries have implemented heat wave warning systems to combat the health effects of extreme heat. Little is known about whether these systems actually reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality. We examined the effectiveness of heat wave alerts and health plans in reducing the mortality risk of heat waves in Korea by utilizing the discrepancy between the alerts and the monitored temperature. A difference-in-differences analysis combined with propensity score weighting was used. Mortality, weather monitoring, and heat wave alert announcement data were collected for 7 major cities during 2009−2014. Results showed evidence of risk reduction among people aged 19−64 without education (−0.144 deaths/1,000,000 people, 95% CI: −0.227, −0.061) and children aged 0−19 (−0.555 deaths/1,000,000 people, 95% CI: −0.993, −0.117). Decreased cardiovascular and respiratory mortality was found in several subgroups including single persons, widowed people, blue-collar workers, people with no education or the highest level of education (university or higher). No evidence was found for decreased all-cause mortality in the population (1.687 deaths/1,000,000 people per day; 95% CI: 1.118, 2.255). In conclusion, heat wave alerts may reduce mortality for several causes and subpopulations of age and socio-economic status. Further work needs to examine the pathways through which the alerts impact subpopulations differently. |
topic |
hot temperature mortality heat waves extreme heat climate change quasi-experiment vulnerability adaptation heat action plans |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/12/2245 |
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