Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2025
Mahmood, A., Wei, C., Zhu, H., & Pauly, T. (2025, November 14). A Comprehensive Approach to Enhance Older Adults’ Preparedness for Extreme Heat: COPE-Engage [Oral presentation]. In Disasters and housing/neighborhoods symposium, Gerontological Society of America, Boston, MA, United States.
Dr. Atiya Mahmood presented the COPE-Engage project at GSA, highlighting preliminary findings from both focus groups and expert interviews, and the common themes emerging between them. The presentation identified several gaps between what services currently offer and what older adults experience day to day. That’s really where the future direction of COPE lies: bridging that disconnect so preparedness strategies better reflect people’s lived realities.
Title
A Comprehensive Approach to Enhance Older Adults’ Preparedness for Extreme Heat: COPE -Engage
Abstract
Climate change has resulted in increase in the frequency of extreme heat days and older adults are disproportionately aff ected due to physiological vulnerabilities and systemic barriers to adaptation. In this study, we conduct focus group interviews with older adults and semi-structured interviews with community partners (e.g., healthcare and housing providers, city planners and community service organizations) to identify best practices and challenges in existing heat response strategies. Focus groups fi ndings provide rich, narrative-driven insights into lived experiences, enabling us to understand how older adults interpret and respond to heat-related risks as they navigate extreme heat and access community services. Questions are asked about awareness and preparedness; perception of vulnerability; socioeconomic infl uence; thermal comfort and heat relief. Findings from the semi-structured interviews provide in-depth information on how public organizations and service sectors deliver service and programs during these events. The community partners are asked about access and quality of community facilities, services and programs to mitigate and manage extreme heat events. Preliminary fi ndings demonstrate that older adults who are supported through specifi c community-based organizations during heat events have better awareness about risk factors and are able to access and use services more eff ectively. Transportation plays a key role in utilization of services like cooling centres. Community organizations emphasize the need for more multi-sectorial collaboration to better serve older adults. Both groups highlight the need for better communication and awareness campaigns around risks factors of extreme heat events. A multi-year approach integrates co-creation workshops to refi ne intervention strategies based on study findings.
Presenter
Atiya Mahmood, Ph.D. (she/her)
Dr. Mahmood is a Professor in the Gerontology Department at SFU with a research focus on older adults, persons with disability, mobility, social inclusion/exclusion and participation, physical environment and health. Her expertise includes qualitative, mixed-method and community-based participatory research.
Her recent research in MAP can be summarized as: a) development of comprehensive and validated user-led tools in environmental assessments for older adults and people with disabilities; b) development of evidence-based Knowledge Translation tools in mobility and participation for diverse group of people using a community-based participatory process.
