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Economic Evaluations of the Health Impacts of Weather-Related Extreme Events: A Scoping Review

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  • Laetitia H. M. Schmitt

    (Centre for Health Economics, University of York, YO10 5DD York, UK
    Academic Unit of Health Economics, University of Leeds, LS2 9LJ Leeds, UK)

  • Hilary M. Graham

    (Health Sciences Department, University of York, YO10 5DD York, UK)

  • Piran C. L. White

    (Environment Department, University of York, Wentworth Way, YO10 5NG York, UK)

Abstract

The frequency and severity of extreme events is expected to increase under climate change. There is a need to understand the economic consequences of human exposure to these extreme events, to underpin decisions on risk reduction. We undertook a scoping review of economic evaluations of the adverse health effects from exposure to weather-related extreme events. We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases with no restrictions to the type of evaluations. Twenty studies were included, most of which were recently published. Most studies have been undertaken in the U.S. (nine studies) or Asia (seven studies), whereas we found no studies in Africa, Central and Latin America nor the Middle East. Extreme temperatures accounted for more than a third of the pool of studies (seven studies), closely followed by flooding (six studies). No economic study was found on drought. Whilst studies were heterogeneous in terms of objectives and methodology, they clearly indicate that extreme events will become a pressing public health issue with strong welfare and distributional implications. The current body of evidence, however, provides little information to support decisions on the allocation of scarce resources between risk reduction options. In particular, the review highlights a significant lack of research attention to the potential cost-effectiveness of interventions that exploit the capacity of natural ecosystems to reduce our exposure to, or ameliorate the consequences of, extreme events.

Suggested Citation

  • Laetitia H. M. Schmitt & Hilary M. Graham & Piran C. L. White, 2016. "Economic Evaluations of the Health Impacts of Weather-Related Extreme Events: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:11:p:1105-:d:82417
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    Cited by:

    1. Mary Fox & Christopher Zuidema & Bridget Bauman & Thomas Burke & Mary Sheehan, 2019. "Integrating Public Health into Climate Change Policy and Planning: State of Practice Update," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Andrea Conti & Martina Valente & Matteo Paganini & Marco Farsoni & Luca Ragazzoni & Francesco Barone-Adesi, 2022. "Knowledge Gaps and Research Priorities on the Health Effects of Heatwaves: A Systematic Review of Reviews," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Laura Bojke & Laetitia Schmitt & James Lomas & Gerry Richardson & Helen Weatherly, 2018. "Economic Evaluation of Environmental Interventions: Reflections on Methodological Challenges and Developments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-9, November.
    4. Tabassom Sedighi & Liz Varga & Amin Hosseinian-Far & Alireza Daneshkhah, 2021. "Economic Evaluation of Mental Health Effects of Flooding Using Bayesian Networks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.

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