Jurnal Internasional vol.12 issue 2 2022
African Journal of Emergency Medicine
Climate change and emergency care in Africa: A scoping review

Jurnal Internasional vol.12 issue 2 2022
African Journal of Emergency Medicine
Climate change and emergency care in Africa: A scoping review

Climate change
Disaster preparedness
Climate change adaptation
Climate change resilience
Emergency medicine

Introduction: Climate change is a global public health emergency with implications for access to care and emer-
gency care service disruptions. The African continent is particularly vulnerable to climate-related extreme weather

events due to an already overburdened health system, lack of early warning signs, poverty, inadequate infras-
tructure, and variable adaptive capacity. Emergency care services are not only utilized during these events but

also threatened by these hazards. Considering that the effects of climate change are expected to increase in in-
tensity and prevalence, it is increasingly important for emergency care to prepare to respond to the changes in

presentation and demand. The aim of this study was to perform a scoping review of the available literature on
the relationship between climate change and emergency care on the African continent.
Methods: A scoping review was completed using five databases: Pubmed, Web of Science, GreenFILE, Africa Wide
Information, and Google Scholar. A ‘grey’ literature search was done to identify key reports and references from
included articles. Two independent reviewers screened articles and a third reviewer decided conflicts. A total
of 1,382 individual articles were initially screened with 17 meeting full text review. A total of six articles were
included in the final analysis. Data from four countries were represented including Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania,
and Nigeria.
Results: Analysis of the six articles yielded three key themes that were identified: climate-related health impacts
that contribute to surges in demand and resource utilization, opportunities for health sector engagement, and

solutions to improve emergency preparedness. Authors used the outcomes of the review to propose 10 recom-
mendations for decision-makers and leaders.

DXDiscussion: Incorporating these key recommendations at the local and national level could help improve pre-
paredness and adaptation measures in highly vulnerable, populated areas on the African continent.

Elzarie Theron, Corey B Bills, Emilie J Calvello Hynes, Willem Stassen, Caitlin Rublee

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2022.02.003

13 February 2022

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