Department of Business Chemistry, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan 30;17(3):874. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030874.
The rising probability of extremely high temperatures and an increasing number of consecutive hot days caused by climate change-combined with the impact of these high temperatures on human health-is widely discussed in the literature. There are calls for the development of heatwave adaptation measures by governmental and scientific institutions. In this research, the predictors of health-related heat risk perception of urban citizens in Augsburg, Germany, were investigated. An online survey was conducted with 468 citizens, asking about their heat risk perception, knowledge about heat risks, and demographic data and health information. Statistical methods (Spearman correlation, unpaired -test, ANOVA and multiple regression) were used to determine which factors were significant and relevant. The results show that the knowledge of heat risks, heat risk sensitivity and an external locus of control are the most important factors for heat risk perception. The health implication score and chronic disease show significant effects in descriptive statistics. Furthermore, younger people showed the highest heat risk perception of all age groups. Surprisingly, income, education, living alone and gender did not play a role in heat risk perception. The findings imply a need for better and intensified heat risk communication in urban areas-especially among elderly people-and thus are important for creating acceptance towards heat wave risks, which is a prerequisite of willingness to adapt.
气候变化导致的极高温度和连续高温天数的概率增加——以及这些高温对人类健康的影响——在文献中被广泛讨论。政府和科学机构呼吁制定热浪适应措施。本研究调查了德国奥格斯堡市城市居民与健康相关的热风险感知的预测因素。通过在线调查了 468 名市民，询问了他们的热风险感知、对热风险的认识以及人口统计学数据和健康信息。使用统计方法（Spearman 相关、非配对检验、方差分析和多元回归）来确定哪些因素是重要和相关的。结果表明，对热风险的认识、热风险敏感性和外部控制源是热风险感知的最重要因素。健康影响评分和慢性病在描述性统计中表现出显著影响。此外，年轻人在所有年龄段中表现出最高的热风险感知。令人惊讶的是，收入、教育、独居和性别在热风险感知中没有起到作用。研究结果表明，城市地区需要更好和更强化的热风险沟通——特别是在老年人中——因此，这对于接受热浪风险是重要的，这是愿意适应的前提。
