Spatial patterns of health vulnerability to heatwaves in Vietnam
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Doan, Van Quang
Nguyen, Vien Truong
Khan, Ansar
Thai, Phong K
Cunrui, Huang
Chu, Cordia
Schak, Elena
Phung, Dung
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Abstract
The increasing frequency and intensity of heat events have weighty impacts on public health in Vietnam, but their effects vary across regions. In this study, we have applied a vulnerability assessment framework (VAF) to systematically assess the spatial pattern of health vulnerability to heatwaves in Vietnam. The VAF was computed as the function of three dimensions: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, with the indicators for each dimension derived from the relevant literature, consultation with experts, and available data. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to determine the weight of indicators. Each province in Vietnam’s vulnerability to the health impacts of heatwaves was evaluated by applying the vulnerability index, computed using 13 indicators (sensitivity index, 9; adaptive capacity index, 3; and exposure index, 1). As a result of this analysis, this study has identified heatwave vulnerability ‘hotspots’, primarily in the Southeast, Central Highlands, and South Central Coast of Vietnam. However, these hotspots are not necessarily the same as the area most vulnerable to climate change, because some areas that are more sensitive to heatwaves may have a higher capacity to adapt to them due to a host of factors including their population characteristics (e.g. rates of the elderly or children), socio-economic and geographical conditions, and the availability of air-conditioners. This kind of information, provided by the vulnerability index framework, allows policymakers to determine how to more efficiently allocate resources and devise appropriate interventions to minimise the impact of heatwaves with strategies tailored to each region of Vietnam.
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International Journal of Biometeorology
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64
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5
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© 2020 Springer Berlin Heidelberg. This is an electronic version of an article published in International Journal of Biometeorology, 2020, 64 (5), pp. 863-872. International Journal of Biometeorology is available online at: http://link.springer.com/ with the open URL of your article.
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Other physical sciences
Atmospheric sciences
Health services and systems
Public health
Climate change science
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Physical Sciences
Biophysics
Environmental Sciences
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Tran, DN; Doan, VQ; Nguyen, VT; Khan, A; Thai, PK; Cunrui, H; Chu, C; Schak, E; Phung, D, Spatial patterns of health vulnerability to heatwaves in Vietnam, International Journal of Biometeorology, 2020, 64 (5), pp. 863-872