Farman Ullah

Heatwaves have long been recognized as a serious public health threat. Effective adaptation measures can reduce the risks to people and ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to explore the determinants of heatwave adaptive behaviors using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a framework. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 686 participants who were registered volunteers at the Alkhidmat Foundation in Pakistan, using an online questionnaire. For individual adaptive behaviors, only perceived benefits and self-efficacy were observed as significant predictors. For household adaptive behaviors, only cues to action and self-efficacy were found as significant predictors. In terms of overall adaptive behaviors, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy were significant predictors. Our study explores the influence of the HBM constructs on adaptive behaviors across various subgroups, highlighting their differential significance in rural and urban settings, formal and informal occupations, and experiences within heatwaves. These findings highlight the potential of the HBM in guiding the creation of impactful interventions that facilitate behavioral changes during heatwaves, thereby enhancing people’s adaptive behaviors. By emphasizing the association of the HBM with adaptive behaviors, our findings offer valuable insights for authorities seeking to make informed decisions and policies.

As heatwaves increase and intensify worldwide, so has the research aimed at outlining strategies to protect individuals from their impact. Interventions that promote adaptive measures to heatwaves are encouraged, but evidence on how to develop such interventions is still scarce. Although the Health Belief Model is one of the leading frameworks guiding behavioral change interventions, the evidence of its use in heatwave research is limited. This rapid review aims to identify and describe the main themes and key findings in the literature regarding the use of the Health Belief Model in heatwaves research. It also highlights important research gaps and future research priorities. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 10 articles were included, with a geographic distribution as follows: United States (n = 1), Australia (n = 1), Pakistan (n = 1), and China (n = 1), as well as Malaysia (n = 2), Germany (n = 1), and Austria (n = 1). Results showed a lack of research using the Health Belief Model to study heatwaves induced by climate change. Half of the studies assessed heatwave risk perception, with the 2 most frequently used constructs being Perceived Susceptibility and Perceived Severity. The Self-efficacy construct was instead used less often. Most of the research was conducted in urban communities. This review underscores the need for further research using the Health Belief Model.

Floods have caused major losses and damages to people, infrastructure, and the environment. This study aims to assess the risk perception of households prone to riverine and flash floods and the perceived damages to infrastructure and livelihoods. Data were collected from 382 households through a questionnaire survey and analyzed using chi-squared and t-tests. Overall, risk perception was higher for riverine floods. Similarly, ‘flood coping capacities’, ‘livelihood disruption’, ‘change in lifestyle/adjusting to floods’, and ‘change in the relationship’ were also high for riverine floods and statistically significant (p-value < 0.05). The ‘likelihood of future flood damages’ perception was higher for flash floods (mean values: 0.913 vs. 0.779), while the ‘infrastructural damages’ showed the same results. The perceptions of ‘livelihoods’ and perceived ‘economic loss’ were greater for riverine floods (p-value < 0.05). The perceptions of ‘livestock damages’ and ‘household damages’ were higher for flash floods.