Heat Survey: Adaptation and Health Effects

The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) will conduct, in the fall of 2021, a survey of 10 000 Quebecers in order to document the adaptation measures they adopted during the very hot days of the summer 2021.

Information for study participants

More specifically, this study will determine if you experienced any effects on your health during the intense hot days during the summer of 2021 and if you adopted behaviors to protect yourself.

If you are selected to participate in the study, you will be contacted by the survey firm Advanis Jolicoeur to answer either the online questionnaire (50%) or the telephone questionnaire conducted by a qualified interviewer (50%). Your participation will take approximately 30 minutes of your time. Your answers will be anonymous and confidential.

This study will help public health authorities adapt their measures to better protect the population from heat. This study will provide a better understanding of how heat affects certain groups of the population and will help fight against social inequalities in health. This will allow the implementation of communication and intervention strategies adapted to the needs of different population groups.

It is funded by the Québec government's 2013-2020 Climate Change Action Plan and has been approved by the Comité d’éthique de la recherche en Dépendance, Inégalités sociales et Santé publique of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

Project description

The prevention messages delivered by public health influence the adoption of preventive behaviors in times of heat, particularly among the elderly and others groups of population vulnerable to heat. In recent decades, summers have become hotter, and previously rare heat waves have become almost annual. Projections up to 2040-2070 predict, in most regions of Quebec, 10 (Bas-Saint-Laurent) to 40 (Montreal) days with temperatures above 30 ° C. Over the past 10 years, several studies, including those by the Observatoire québécois de l’adaptation aux changements climatiques (OQACC), have focused on the adoption of behaviors to better adapt to the heat. In order to follow the evolution of heat adaptation behaviors in Quebecers and the impact of heat on health - particularly in the elderly - an update of these data was necessary, and ensuring, for the first time, regional representativeness of the data.

This study aims to document the adaptation measures adopted by the Quebec population during the days when it was very hot in the summer of 2021. The results of the study will make it possible to adapt interventions to better protect the population from the heat.

More specifically, the objectives of the study are as follows:

  1. Estimate the proportion of people who have adopted behaviors that adapt to the heat;
  2. Obtain reliable proportions of these behaviors at the regional level;
  3. Obtain reliable proportions of these behaviors among people 65 and over at the provincial level;
  4. Evaluate the evolution of these behaviors over time;
  5. Estimate the impacts of heat on physical health and well-being;
  6. Estimate the impacts of COVID-19 on heat adaptation behaviors;
  7. Determine the relevant information to communicate via an automated telephone alert system.

What participation in the research project entails

Your participation in this survey requires only that you complete a survey conducted by an interviewer. Completing this questionnaire should take you about 30 minutes.

Confidentiality

Responses to this questionnaire are completely anonymous and the research team will keep all your answers confidential as provided for by law. If certain questions make you uncomfortable, you can simply refuse to answer them without having to justify yourself. You are free to participate in this research project and to withdraw your participation at any time without negative consequences and without having to justify your decision. If you cease to participate, the data you have provided will be destroyed. Once the questionnaire has been completed and submitted, due to the anonymity of the responses, we will no longer be able to remove you from the study.

The results of this study will be used for public health surveillance and summary reports will be presented to public health authorities and other health professionals and may be published in professional journals. No personally identifiable information will be published. The researchers are required to ensure the confidentiality of participants. Therefore, you will not be required to give your name and no individual results will ever be released. The data will be kept, for a period of 10 years, only in digital format in password-protected encrypted files on the secure servers of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.

Additional information

This study has been approved by the Comité d’éthique de la recherche en Dépendance, Inégalités sociales et Santé publique of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

If you have any questions about this research, you can contact the principal researcher, Céline Campagna, at 418 650-5115, ext. 5236, or by email at [email protected].

If you wish to inquire about your rights or file a complaint, you can reach the service quality and complaints commissioner of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal at 514 593-3600.

If you have any questions about the ethical aspects of the project, you can contact the Comité d’éthique de la recherche en Dépendance, Inégalités sociales et Santé publique at 514 809-3821, or by email at [email protected].

The ethics committee could verify, for oversight or control purposes, that researchers are complying with all confidentiality rules. The members of the ethics committee all adhere to a strict confidentiality policy.

Consent

We thank you for the time and attention you agree to devote to this study. By completing the survey, you are giving your consent to participate in this research without coercion or pressure.

  • Céline Campagna, Ph. D, INSPQ
  • Magalie Canuel, M. Sc., INSPQ
  • Ray Bustinza, M. Sc., INSPQ
  • Pierre Gosselin, M.D., INSPQ
  • Pierre Valois, Ph. D., Université Laval

This projet is funded by the Québec government's 2013-2020 Climate Change Action Plan.