HUBBUB ★ WINNER – STAFF PICK

Our vision of the multifaceted “Beat the Heat” campaign project is to help reduce British Columbians’ exposure to extreme heat and reduce the risk of heat-related deaths. In particular, we strive to increase equity by proposing a series of recommendations to help protect seniors who are disproportionately impacted by extreme heat events. The creation of this project stemmed from the call to action for the City of Vancouver regarding the recent climate emergency in the summer. Extreme heat events, such as the heat dome, captured the gaps in the current communication and response system. It has been recognized that seniors are a hard-to-reach population, and it can be challenging for seniors to access the proper resources to cope with extreme heat events. The 12 proposed recommendations aim to break down the social barriers that seniors might experience while improving communication efforts and increasing community-led efforts to address extreme heat events. We have initiated the majority of these ideas by creating samples of health communication tools, forming a community partnership network, and developing a training module for health care aids who can reach socially-isolated seniors. The next steps require continuing stakeholder engagement, testing and translating the products, and building social capital to increase the government and community’s ability to prepare, respond, and adapt to extreme heat events. To access our report outlining the project proposal and recommendations or to learn more about extreme heat events such as heat domes, personal safety tips for seniors, and more, please visit the official Beat the Heat website.