Understanding the implications of climate change on the future of primary care and service provision for those with multiple long-term conditions in England.
Problem
Multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) refers to people living with two or more long-term conditions. It will become increasingly prevalent in coming decades due to the ageing population and is associated with high rates of morbidity, mortality and health-care expenditure. Alongside this growth in MTLC, forecasts over coming decades predict greater seasonal variations in long-term weather patterns due to climate change. England will experience more intense heatwaves and droughts during summer months, whilst winters will become warmer, increasing the risk of flooding and severe storm events.
Over the next decade, these changes are likely to have significant impacts on population health, as well as compounding pressures on already strained healthcare services. People with MLTC are particularly vulnerable to these extremes of weather, which is significant to primary care, as currently this patient cohort access or receive most of their care from the sector. However, there is a paucity of evidence examining the impacts of climate change and associated weather extremes on primary care services, particularly in relation to care provision for vulnerable populations. Therefore, new knowledge is urgently needed to inform national and local primary care service planning, and to identify preventative opportunities that could mitigate some of these impacts.
Approach
Our research uses two methods:
1) A scoping review collating published/unpublished evidence on the impact of climate change on the MLTC population and primary care services.
2) Focus groups with patients, caregivers and care professionals to elicit views on how climate change has adversely affected the health of those with MLTC and identify possible future interventions and preventative measures.
This poster will present findings from the scoping review component of the study.
Findings
Fieldwork will be conducted between May-September 2024. Interim findings will be reported. Anticipated outcomes from this research, include raising wider awareness of climate change-related health impacts on MLTC and primary care services. Our work will stimulate discussion among primary care practitioners, patients, policymakers and other stakeholders about possible responses to mitigate possible harmful effects of climate change on health.
Consequences
This exploratory study will fill an important knowledge gap. This work will allow us to identify future opportunities for intervening and planning of primary care services in response to climate change. Overall, our work is aimed at improving the lives of people with MLTC and delivering more effective primary care services for vulnerable populations in the future. This research will also be relevant to future training requirements of primary care staff and other care professionals, including raising awareness of the health risks of climate change and how to manage these.