Rapid review on healthy ageing interventions that incorporate action on climate change and sustainability in cities and communities

Objectives

Intersecting global trends of population ageing and climate change have far-reaching implications for health and sustainability in cities and community contexts. Older adults are highly impacted by climate change, and yet reports of the implementation of the World Health Organizations’ Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) approach rarely examine the impacts of climate change on older adults. There is limited research on climate change interventions that target older populations. This rapid scoping review characterizes existing evidence in this area, including climate and health-related interventions involving older populations around the world.

Methods

The PCC framework (Population, Context, Concept) guided the implementation of this rapid scoping review. Peer reviewed articles were sourced from Scopus (Elsevier), Greenfile, Academic Search Complete (EBSCO), Global Health (OVID) and Google Scholar. Grey literature was sourced from Google Scholar, Google and relevant international websites. Inclusion criteria were grey and academic publications in English, after the year 2000 and described an intervention. Screening was undertaken on Covidence software and critically appraised using MMAT and AACODS tools. The AFCC framework was used to guide analysis and interpretation.

Results

Twenty-five articles were included. The review found a paucity of literature describing age-friendly cities and community interventions that considered health-related impacts of climate change on older adults, issues for rural communities and those in developing nations. Climate change was rarely mentioned other than for context in the peer-reviewed literature, and the grey literature was similarly sparse. Peer-reviewed literature was top-down, focusing on disasters and older adults’ vulnerability, whilst the grey literature privileged older adult agency and potential contribution to addressing climate change. Successful interventions were programs that positioned older adults as active, empowered participants.

Conclusions

Climate change justice and resilience should be incorporated explicitly into the AFCC framework. Greater information exchange between Global North and Global South and inclusion of diverse perspectives (i.e., Indigenous knowledge, people with disabilities and/or experiencing homelessness) will enhance policy efforts. Similarly, recognition of the broader impacts of climate change on the fundamental pre-requisites for health across the lifespan such as food, water and energy security are required. Older adults should be seen as a valuable resource integral to the design and implementation of innovative interventions with climate resilience, healthy ageing focus.