Climate Change Policies and Older Adults: An Analysis of States’ Climate Adaptation Plans

Background and Objectives As climate change drives more frequent and intense weather events, older adults face disproportionate impacts, including having the highest mortality rates from storms, wildfires, flooding, and heat waves. State governments are critical in deploying local resources to help address climate change impacts. This policy study analyzes states’ climate adaptation plans to assess the methods through which they address the impact of climate change on older adults. Research Design and Methods This study uses content analysis to analyze available climate change adaptation plans for all U.S. states for strategies designed to increase resilience of older adults to impacts of climate change. Results Nineteen states have climate adaptation plans, of which 18 describe older adults as a population group with specific health impacts and risks factors. Four categories of adaptation strategies for older adults include communications, transportation, housing, and emergency services. State plans vary in terms of the risk factors and adaptation strategies included. Discussion and Implications To varying degrees, states’ climate change adaptation planning address health, social and economic risks specific to older adults, as well as strategies for mitigating those risks. As global warming continues, collaborations between public and private sectors and across regions will be needed to prevent negative outcomes such as forced relocation and other social and economic disruptions as well as disparate morbidity and mortality

Extreme Heat Vulnerability among Older Adults: A Multi-level Risk Index for Portland, Oregon

Background and Objectives Extreme heat is an environmental health equity concern disproportionately impacting low-income older adults and people of color. Exposure factors, such as living in rental housing and lack of air conditioning, and sensitivity factors, such as chronic disease and social isolation, increase mortality risk among older adults. Older persons face multiple barriers to adaptive heat mitigation, particularly for those living in historically temperate climates. This study measures two heat vulnerability indices to identify areas and individuals most vulnerable to extreme heat and discusses opportunities to mitigate vulnerability among older adults. Research Design and Methods We constructed two heat vulnerability indices for the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area: one using area scale proxy measures extracted from existing regional data and another at the individual scale using survey data collected following the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome event. These indices were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Results Results indicate that the spatial distribution of areas and individuals vulnerable to extreme heat are quite different. The only area found among the most vulnerable on both indices has the largest agglomeration of age- and income-restricted rental housing in the metropolitan area

What Keeps Me Awake at Night : Assisted Living Administrator Responses to COVID-19.

Assisted living (AL) constitutes an important sector of residential long-term care, yet there has been limited research about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in this setting. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of the early stages of the pandemic (February-August 2020) from AL administrators\u27 perspectives

Direct Care Staff Experiences in Oregon Assisted Living, Residential Care and Memory Care Communities, 2022

Resident care assistants (e.g., direct care workers, caregivers, personal care aides) provide the majority of services to assisted living, residential care and memory care-endorsed (ALF/RCF) residents. They faced significant burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic, which amplified existing challenges in some ALF/RCF communities, yet little is known about their work experiences. This qualitative study collected data through focus group and individual interviews with 21 resident care assistants and 12 external colleagues who have experience hiring, training or managing resident care assistants and other ALF/RCF staff, including registered nurse consultants, staffing agency operators, state policy staff, ALF/RCF community operations managers, and advocates. The Institute on Aging study team identified nine primary themes based on the 32 interviews. Supporting the resilience and stability of the direct care workforce is a significant public policy concern in Oregon and nationally. Solutions exist at the individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and policy levels. A multi-level systems approach (e.g., social-ecological approach) is needed to address the challenges and build on the strengths identified in this study