Gender Inequities in the Impact of Climate Change on Health: A Scoping Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Phase 1: Identification of the Research Question
- What are the differentiated impacts of climate change on health considering the gender dimensions?
- How are socioeconomic and gender inequalities intertwined in exposure to climate risks?
2.2. Phase 2: Identification of Relevant Studies
2.3. Phase 3: Study Selection
2.4. Phase 4: Data Extraction
2.5. Phase 5: Summary and Reporting of Results
3. Results
3.1. Themes
3.1.1. Mental Health
3.1.2. Reproductive Health
3.1.3. Gender-Based Violence
3.1.4. Occupational Health
3.1.5. Health Issues Associated with Heat and Air Pollution
3.1.6. Social Determinants and Climate Change
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Limitations
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Database: PubMed | ||
---|---|---|
Search | Strategy | Results |
1 | Climate Change[Mesh] OR Climate Change*[tiab] OR Climatic Change*[tiab] OR Global Warming[Mesh] OR Global Warm*[tiab] OR Sea Level Rise[Mesh] OR Sea-Level Ris*[tiab] OR Extreme Weather[Mesh] OR Extreme Cold[tiab] OR Extreme Heat[tiab] OR Cold Temperature[Mesh] OR Cold Temperature*[tiab] OR Hot Temperature[Mesh] OR Hot Temperature*[tiab] OR Droughts[Mesh] OR Tornado*[tiab] OR Tropical Storm*[tiab] OR Typhoon*[tiab] OR Hurricane*[tiab] OR Cyclon*[tiab] OR Natural Disasters[Mesh] OR Avalanche*[tiab] OR Earthquake*[tiab] OR Floods[tiab] OR Landslides[tiab] OR Tidal Wave*[tiab] OR Wildfire*[tiab] OR El Nino-Southern Oscillation[Mesh] OR El Nino[tiab] OR La Nina[tiab] OR Nino-Southern[tiab] | 8602 |
2 | Health[Mesh] OR Death[Mesh] OR Death*[tiab] OR Mortality[Mesh] OR Mortalit*[tiab] OR Wounds and Injuries[Mesh] OR Wounds[tiab] OR Injur*[tiab] OR Quality of Life [Mesh] OR “Quality Life”[tiab:~2] OR QoL[tiab] | 196.473 |
3 | Gender Identity[Mesh] OR Gender[tiab] OR Women[Mesh] | 11.773 |
4 | #1 AND #2 AND #3 and filters (Article type: Meta-Analysis, Review, Systematic Review, Publication date: 5 years) | 34 |
Database: LILACS | ||
Search | Strategy | Results |
1 | (Climate Change$ OR Climatic Change$ OR Climate Change OR Global Warm$ OR Global Warming OR Global Drought OR Extreme Cold OR Extreme Heat OR Extreme Heat OR Cold Temperature OR Hot Temperature$ OR Droughts OR Drought$ OR Tornado$ OR Tropical Storm$ OR Tropical Storm OR Tropical Tempestade OR Typhoon$ Tifon$ OR Tufao OR Hurricane$ OR Hurricane$ OR Furacao OR Cyclon$ OR Cyclon$ OR Avalanch$ OR Earthquake$ OR Earthquake$ OR Flood$ OR Enchente$ OR Landslides OR Tidal Wave$ OR Maremoto$ OR Wildfire$ OR Incendio$) AND (Health OR Salud OR Saude OR Death$ OR Mortali$ OR Wounds OR Injur$ OR Herid$ OR Quality Life OR QoL OR Calidad de Vida OR Qualidade de Vida) AND (Gender OR Genero) | 23 |
Database: SciELO | ||
Search | Strategy | Results |
1 | Climate Change* OR Climatic Change* OR Climate Change OR Global Warm* OR Global Warming OR Global Drought OR Sea-Level Ris* OR Extreme Cold OR Extreme Heat OR Extreme Heat OR Drought OR Tornado* OR Tropical Storm* OR Tropical Storm OR Tropical Storm OR Tropical Storm OR Typhoon* OR Typhoon* OR Tufao OR Hurricane* OR Hurricane* OR Fracao OR Cyclon* OR Cyclon* OR Natural Disasters OR Avalanch* OR Earthquake* OR Earthquake OR Earthquake OR Floods OR Inundacion* OR inundações OR Landslides OR Tidal Wave* OR Maremoto* OR Wildfire* OR Incendio* OR “El Niño” OR “La Niña”) AND (Genero OR Gender OR Women OR Mujer) | 15 |
Author, Year, and Reference | Study Type | Region | Study Period | Number of Articles Included in the Review | Aim | Analyzed Population |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ramadan and Ataallah (2021) [10] | Review | Global | Not specified | No information | To understand the currently, scientifically proven impact of climate change-related disasters on mental health and understanding the different methods of solving the problem at the corporate level, by trying to decrease greenhouse gas emissions to zero, and at the individual level by learning how to cope with the impacts of those disasters. | Not specified |
Stone et al. (2022) [11] | Scoping review | Global | 2007 to 2020 | 20 | To understand what is known from the existing literature regarding the mental health impacts of climate change on women. | Women, young women, girls, gender non-binary femme-identified people, and Two-Spirit people |
Spector et al. (2019) [12] | Review | North America (US and Canada), Europe (Italy and Spain), Asia (Thailand and China), and Australia | Not specified | 12 | To review the emerging literature on the relationship between heat exposure and occupational traumatic injuries, and to discuss implications of this work. | All workers, workers in all industries, outdoor construction workers, agricultural workers, Thai Cohort Study participants who reported working for income, and aluminum smelter workers |
Huang et al. (2023) [13] | Systematic review and meta-analysis | North America (US), South America (Brazil), Australia, and Asia (China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Republic of Korea) | Inception to April 2022 | 71 | To provide a systematic review with meta- analysis of current evidence on the risks of all reported health outcomes related to cyclones, and to identify research gaps and make recommendations for further research. | Population-based studies with no restriction on sex, age, or region |
Salvador et al. (2023) [14] | Review | Global | Not specified | No information | To analyze the observed and projected trends in drought occurrence, assess the main impacts of drought on health, and provide an overview of prevention and adaptation policies, providing recommendations to address future threats of climate change and to enhance resilience. | Not specified |
El Khayat et al. (2022) [15] | Review | Global | Inception to December 2021 | 92 | To summarize the available evidence on the effects of climate change on farmworkers’ health with a focus on heat-related illnesses. To identify the risk factors for heat-related illnesses among farmworkers, and to review the preventive measures that are used to minimize heat stress exposure among farmworkers. | Farmworkers of all age groups |
Rekha et al. (2023) [16] | Systematic review | North America (US and Canada), Europe (Germany, Spain, and Sweden), Australia, and Asia (China, Israel, and Bangladesh) | Inception to December 2021 | 23 | To compile all known evidence-based research on the effects of heat stress on Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (APO) | Treated pregnant women and newborns |
Aktoz et al. (2023) [17] | Systematic review and meta-analysis | Asia (China and Iran), South America (Chile), and Australia (New Zealand) | Inception to April 2023 | 5 | To evaluate the available evidence, estimate the overall effect, and identify key research gaps about the effect of earthquakes on pregnant women. | Pregnant women |
Dhimal et al. (2021) [18] | Narrative review | Asia | Not specified | No information | To document how climate change has impacted and will impact the health and well-being of the people in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, and to offer adaptation and mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of climate change on the health and well-being of these people. | Population of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region |
Logie et al. (2024) [19] | Scoping review | Global | Without time restrictions | 108 | To examine the literature on associations between climate change and sexual health. | Not specified |
Neira et al. (2023) [20] | Literature review | Middle East | 2000 onwards | No information | To synthesize current knowledge on the effects of climate change on the health of people living in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region, with a particular focus on exposure to extreme heat, water shortages, air pollution, vector-borne diseases, and the health of displaced populations. | Not specified |
Adu et al. (2023) [21] | Literature review | North America (US and Canada), Europe (Portugal), and Asia (Thailand) | 2019 to 2022 | 8 | To synthesize the currently available literature regarding the impact of wildfire on mental health, specifically the psychological reactions of children to wildfires. | ≤20 years old |
Fatima et al. (2021) [22] | Systematic review | North America (US and Canada), Europe (Italy and Spain), Asia (China), and Australia | Inception to July 2020 | 24 | To summarize the existing epidemiological evidence on the impact of extreme heat (hot temperatures and heatwaves (HW)) on occupational injuries (OI) in different climate zones, and to assess the individual risk factors associated with workers and workplaces that contribute to heat-associated OI risks. | Non-military workers |
Mao and Agyapong (2021) [23] | Literature review | Not specified | Not specified | 21 | To explore the vulnerability and protective social determinant factors which have an impact on the mental health and resiliency in survivors of disasters. | Not specified |
Cheng et al. (2019) [24] | Systematic review and meta-analysis | North America (US), South America (Brazil), Australia, Asia (China, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Iran, and Russia), and Europe (Spain, Germany, France, Slovenia, The Netherlands, and Russia) | Inception to November 2018 | 54 | To quantify heatwave effects on four major health outcomes: cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality. | Not specified |
Chique et al. (2021) [25] | Literature review | Global | 1980 onwards | 59 | To collate, integrate, and analyze psychological morbidity data from populations exposed to Extreme Weather Events. | General population |
Gifford et al. (2019) [26] | Systematic review and meta-analysis | North America (US and Canada), Europe (UK), Asia (China, Korea, and Japan), and Australia | Without time restrictions | 36 | To determine the relative risk of heat illness in women compared with men through an exhaustive literature review and meta-analysis. | Adult or adolescent human data reporting comparable male and female heat illness rates |
Rothschild and Haase (2022) [27] | Narrative review | Not specified | Not specified | No information | To provide an overview of the impacts of climate change on women’s mental health. | Women |
Abed Al Ahad et al. (2020) [28] | Scoping review | Europe | 2012 to 2020 | 112 | To provide a comprehensive review and narrative summary of the literature on the association between air pollution and weather with mortality and hospital admissions. | Not specified |
Theme | Summary of the Impacts of Climate Change on Health According to Gender and Considering the Social Determinants of Health |
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Mental Health |
|
Occupational Health |
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Reproductive Health |
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Gender-based violence |
|
Other health issues |
|
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Zavala, M.D.; Cejas, C.; Rubinstein, A.; Lopez, A. Gender Inequities in the Impact of Climate Change on Health: A Scoping Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21, 1093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081093
Zavala MD, Cejas C, Rubinstein A, Lopez A. Gender Inequities in the Impact of Climate Change on Health: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2024; 21(8):1093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081093
Chicago/Turabian StyleZavala, Melina Denise, Cintia Cejas, Adolfo Rubinstein, and Analia Lopez. 2024. "Gender Inequities in the Impact of Climate Change on Health: A Scoping Review" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 21, no. 8: 1093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081093