Preventive Measures of Climate Change Health Risks and Health Status among Rural Older Adults

Mahmoud, Enas Mohamed; Abdallah, Eman Shokry; Atia, Nashwa Saber; Mohammed, Safia Gomaa

doi:10.21608/znj.2025.342114.1034

Preventive Measures of Climate Change Health Risks and Health Status among Rural Older Adults

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

² Gerontological Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

³ Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

10.21608/znj.2025.342114.1034

Abstract

Background: There are serious health risks associated with climate change, and older adults living in rural areas are especially at risk. Rural areas frequently lack the infrastructure and resources necessary to effectively respond to climate related health threats. Aim of the study: Assess preventive measures of climate change health risks and health status among rural older adults. Subjects and Methods: Research design: Cross-sectional descriptive research. Setting: The study was conducted at Sheiba village, Zagazig city, Sharkia governorate, Egypt, which was randomly selected by using the multistage cluster sampling technique. Subjects: Sample A purposive sample was used. The study subjects were 170 rural older adults. Tools of data collection: An interview questionnaire composed of three parts: demographic characteristics of the elderly, older adult's practices related to prevention of climate change health risks, and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Results: The study revealed that 57.1% of the studied elderly had totally unsatisfactory practices regarding prevention of climate change health risks. Concerning general health status, 57.1% of the studied elderly were stressed. As well as, the highly reported stress characteristic was a somatic complaint (61.8%), whereas the lowest was severe depression (53.5%). Conclusion: Since more than half of the rural older adults in the study had completely unsatisfactory practices and more than half had stressed health status, preventive measures against the health risks associated with climate change were moderately low. Additionally, there was a statistically significant correlation between the older adults' general health status and their practices for preventing the health risks associated with climate change. Recommendations: Developing and implementing tailored interventions for mitigating the impact of climate change on rural older adults' health and well-being.

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