Helping patients with schizophrenia stay safe during extreme heat events

People with schizophrenia may be more vulnerable than others during times of extreme heat. Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Waterloo are investigating how factors such as housing conditions and social inequities shape this risk. The goal is to find ways to improve the safety and resilience of this population as climate change brings more extreme weather. A total of 97 people living with schizophrenia died during the heat dome in Western Canada in 2021, according to a B.C. Coroners Service report. This population made up 16% of the number of mortalities, despite making up less than one percent of the Canadian population. “Five years ago, B.C. experienced a heat dome that caused the death of hundreds of vulnerable people, above all people with severe mental health and substance use disorders,” said Dr. Randall White, a clinical professor in the UBC department of psychiatry, in a June press release from UBC. “We are beginning to understand why such people are vulnerable, and our research project will give a deeper understanding and help develop ways to protect them from future extreme heat. It is urgent: extreme heat is happening right now in Europe and could happen again in Canada, even in the coming months.”Health Canada’s HeatADAPT program rose out of recommendations following the 2021 heat dome in B.C. The program funds initiatives to protect Canadians from extreme heat. HeatADAPT shares $17 million with HealthADAPT, which funds projects making healthcare systems climate resistant and/or low carbon emitting.One of HeatADAPT’s projects is led by Dr. White and Dr. Christian Schütz, a professor in the department of psychiatry. Liv Yoon from the UBC department of kinesiology and climatologist and geographer Peter Crank at the University of Waterloo are also part of the project.It will combine the perspectives of people living with schizophrenia with environmental monitoring and physiological data. The researchers will collect data in participants’ homes to study how indoor environments, physical responses and social conditions interact during heat events. Yoon was the lead author and Drs. White and Schütz were senior authors of a qualitive study on the risks and vulnerabilities among people living with schizophrenia during the 2021 heat dome. It was published in Social Science & Medicine in 2025. The researchers interviewed people with schizophrenia in 2023 and 2024 who had experienced extreme heat events, including the 2021 heat dome.The research suggested that there are a number of factors that make people with schizophrenia more susceptible to harm during extreme heat, from social isolation to challenges with thermoregulation. They may have impaired heat awareness due to symptoms like delusions and cognitive defects, which could also limit their ability to access support during a heat event. People with schizophrenia who use substances and those with inferior or inadequate housing may suffer from higher risk of heat-related illness or mortality during extreme heat.An epidemiological study into the heat-related deaths in Montreal in 2018 revealed 25.8% of the 66 people who died had schizophrenia. Most of these people, 15 out of 17, had another chronic disease and none had air conditioning.“As climate change makes severe heat events more frequent and intense, understanding who is most vulnerable, and why people with mental illness are at highest risk has become a public health priority. This project will generate the evidence needed to help better protect those at greatest risk before the next heat emergency occurs,” said Dr. Schütz in the press release.Other projects funded by HeatADAPT and HealthADAPT can be found on the Health Canada section of canada.ca.

Helping patients with schizophrenia stay safe during extreme heat events

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