Background:
Extreme heat warnings are being implemented across Australia to advise the public about impending hot weather and how to protect their health. One of the challenges for implementing heat warnings relates to the size and climatic diversity within jurisdictions, as warnings need to be appropriate for different regional heat exposures and levels of acclimatisation. Another important element in planning is understanding how public responses may be influenced by local contextual factors, experiences, and attitudes to heat. This includes the capacity of individuals and communities to take preventive actions, and how this may be constrained by limited resources, infrastructure or services.
Aims:
To examine public responses to extreme heat and heat warnings in regional locations and to identify potential barriers to adaptation.
Methods:
A cross-sectional telephone survey of households in non-metropolitan South Australia and Victoria.
Results:
The results indicate a high level of awareness and self-efficacy in managing extreme heat, and a high level of recall of heat warnings and heat health messages. Heat warnings were generally considered to be appropriate to the conditions and were taken seriously. However, the effect of warnings on behaviour change may be limited, as people frequently report that they already know what precautions to take in the heat.
Conclusions:
It may be important to evaluate the content and delivery of heat health messages, and to consider strategies to avoid warning complacency. Our findings also suggest that segmented communication techniques to key groups may be appropriate in promoting heat health messages