Kaitlin Bloemberg

Special to Black Press

During the heatwave of June of 2021, it was a stifling 38C in my old, second-floor apartment.

I was surprised when I couldn鈥檛 sleep at night and looked at my thermometer 鈥� at 2 a.m. it was still 32C in my home. The temperature stayed high, both day and night, for days. Months later, a report would come out that there were 740 excess deaths across B.C. during this time, making it one of Canada鈥檚 largest deadly weather events. Environmental scientists affirmed that people were dying not only because it was too hot outside during the day, but because it was too hot indoors and overnight, not giving the body a much-needed chance to cool. Many people were alone, suffering from heat-related harms or a worsening of existing health conditions.

As these heat events become more frequent, increasing in both temperature and duration, there are many resources available through the BC Government and health authorities to help navigate and prevent harms to individuals and communities. One piece of the puzzle, however, is often left out of the conversation 鈥� this piece is connection, and its opposite, social isolation.

During the 2021 heat event, I heard from colleagues who were working as nurses, paramedics, and in social service community positions that the healthcare system was completely overwhelmed. Healthcare workers were frequently finding people alone and deceased in their place of residence. After the heatwave had passed, I realized that after almost two years of living in my apartment I had only one neighbour I would have felt comfortable checking on. If neighbours of mine were unwell, only metres away, I wouldn鈥檛 have known. In a survey done by the BC Government on personal preparedness planning in 2018, they found that only 20 per cent of people have any contact or plans to help neighbours in the case of an emergency.

It would seem unsurprising that social connection is a major protective factor in preventing health-related harms from heat and other climate events, but unfortunately, social isolation is a major issue across B.C. and Canada. Even before the pandemic, the Vancouver Foundation released a report that showed that 25 per cent of residents living in Metro Vancouver, a densely populated area in B.C., feel isolated and without community.

To mitigate this, there are existing programs, such as in Victoria. Workshops, called 鈥淐onnect & Prepare,鈥� are conducted to support communities in utilizing social connection as a tool for emergency preparedness. These workshops have been demonstrated to increase experiences of connection, emergency preparedness, and develop greater awareness of collective strengths and vulnerabilities. Communities with high social capital have a greater ability to co-ordinate recovery after climate-related emergencies and in some cases, to prevent them. Effective efforts to leverage social connection and prevent heat harms can include health services, neighbourhood and building associations, faith-based groups, and public centres such as libraries or swimming pools. The social health of communities also benefits from interventions to build long-term social capital through community-based interventions such as intergenerational programming.

In thinking about my work as a nurse, climate change and planetary health feel like the most important challenges that communities and health systems will face over the next 50 years. There are many important things we can do, like advocating for environmentally friendly policies and increasing awareness of the connection between human health and the health of the planet, and building connected and strong communities feels just as important. Communities where people are known, participating, and committed to each other will help us as we continue to face climate challenges and mitigate the harms these events cause to communities, particularly the most vulnerable members.

Kaitlin Bloemberg, RN, MSN is a member of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment