People who are socially isolated may not receive the help they need in the event of a flood or heat-wave as they lack the necessary support networks

 

Credit: JRF/Mike Gibb

 

The impacts of climate change and extreme weather events can affect anyone, but people who are socially isolated potentially face more serious harm. For example, during the August 2003 heat-wave in Paris, 919 people died at home, a figure which was nearly seven times higher than the number during the same period in 2002¹. Looking further into a sample of approximately half of these cases showed that 92% of them lived alone. Although too late, the initial alarm was raised most often by: neighbours and friends (around half); family (around a quarter); social and medical services (around a fifth); and the remainder by building managers.  Social service records for 383 victims revealed that 25% had had no strong social ties.

 

Social isolation is one of several, often interconnected, factors which explain who is more likely to be affected during a heat-wave². The Paris example links social isolation, old age, poor physical and mental health, poverty and extreme exposure (small, top floor flats with skylights and very poor insulation) as the defining characteristics of most of the people who lost their lives. While addressing all of these factors is important, increased awareness and vigilance and better formal and informal networks could have saved some of the lives lost. Indeed, in the 1995 Chicago heat wave it was found that the risk of death reduced if there was any type of social contact³ People living with others have been found to be more likely to take remedial measures, such as drinking more liquids during heat waves⁴.

 

Some people lack the social support networks to help them respond to and recover from flood events⁵. Those without family and friends within the local area and on lower incomes are the most likely to need to use public shelters in the event of evacuations⁶. People with fewer social networks may struggle to maintain continuity of treatment in relation to physical or mental health treatments⁷. Where social networks are relatively good there is evidence of a better response to emergency situations and quicker recovery⁸.

 

Social isolation is a considerable and growing problem. A reported 2.9 million people feel that they have no-one to support them during crises, to enjoy recreation with or to offer comfort⁹,¹⁰

 

Social isolation is related to some of the other vulnerable groups identified in this resource. The World Health Organisation identifies poor social networks as a vulnerability factor which is particularly associated with: older people, people in poor health or with disabilities, people reliant on social services for home care, people living alone, ethnic minorities, people who are homeless, people who are substance abusers and people living in rural areas¹¹. Others have also made connections between poor social networks and areas of high social and economic deprivation¹²,¹³ ,¹⁴. People living in areas with high transience may also lack social connections to friends and neighbourhoods in the local community¹⁵.

 

People in rural and some coastal areas may be both physically and socially isolated. Physical isolation due to poor mobility or transport networks present a particular challenge for responding to floods and the recovery process. While people in generally cooler rural areas may be less likely to experience extremes of temperatures, social networks may be particularly important when other forms of help, e.g. from medical services, are further away. Areas of deprivation, geographic isolation and low adaptive capacity can often be associated¹⁶. While ‘feelings about the neighbourhood’ have been found to be considerably better in rural areas, there is evidence of poorer housing quality (homes not classified as ‘decent’ or energy inefficient or associated with fuel poverty) and access to transport¹⁷.

 

Socially isolated people may, by definition, be difficult to identify and engage. However, knowledge about which groups may be more likely to be isolated, e.g. through existing registers, may help local authorities work with partners in service delivery and the voluntary and community sector to provide support to people who are the least well supported through social ties. Several indicators of social networks are included in the map tool, although some are associated with a relatively low confidence level.

 

Social networks are an important part of adaptation and emergency planning. Measures which improve or enhance social networks and raise awareness of appropriate short and longer term adaptation measures are also an important way of increasing wider community resilience to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. It is important to consider who is delivering information and how they are doing it. In some cases, contact will better received and information better understood when delivered by community members, e.g. peers connected to older age charities, rather than from local authorities or other agencies¹⁸. Ensuring that social networks are encouraging appropriate responses is also important, as some evidence suggests that informal networks can reinforce inaction or poor adaptation practices¹⁹. Maintaining social networks and minimising disruption after extreme events is also considered important for speeding up the recovery process²⁰.  This process could be helped by encouraging flexibility and adaptability within the social networks themselves²¹.  

 

Negative experiences of past flood events can help prompt the development of community links which can, in turn, build resilience to future events. For example, in Cumbria, the experience of past events meant that communities were also more resilient (with 18 compared to a previous 12 flood action groups). Where such groups existed, a quicker and more effective response was possible²². The sort of fostering of community spirit implied by the establishment of flood action groups has also been reported elsewhere. Along with other support networks provided by friends and family, community empathy helps in the process of recovery²³,²⁴.

 

Social networks can have wider community benefits. For example, they may help in reducing poverty and increasing health and wellbeing. Some of the ways that this can happen are through the sharing of resources, providing mechanisms for knowledge exchange and also providing a means for collective action through which an individual’s concerns can be given a greater voice²⁵. This role of helping to support connection to public decision-making can also in turn lead to more effective community-based adaptation measures²⁶.

 

There are multiple ways of enhancing social networks. Any measures which enhance community cohesion can have an important role in wider community resilience. Many of the case studies and tools available elsewhere in this resource are relevant for building community resilience through improved social networks. Similarly, broader activities such as community engagement and partnership working can also be important, e.g. through Local Resilience Fora²⁷. Measures designed for building community resilience can have a strong relevance for building, maintaining and enhancing social networks. They include²⁸,²⁹:

• Recognising, enhancing and enabling existing networks through neighbours (e.g. neighbourhood watch), schools (e.g. through PTAs) and other community groups, especially where they are already working with vulnerable groups.
• Encouraging and supporting the development of community resilience plans, e.g. through tools provided by the Cabinet Office.
• Involving communities in plans and measures designed to improve resilience which in turn can help to forge new connections, including through community champions.
• Using statutory powers such as through the Localism Act to help engage communities on local issues.

 

This summary highlights that there is a need to consider the specific needs of socially isolated individuals as part of the process of building more climate resilient communities. In this first version of the Climate Just resource it has only been possible to provide a short overview of available evidence and outline a small number of the possible actions which might be taken in response. However, other parts of the resource provide additional relevant information and complement the information provided here. They provide further evidence, case studies and examples, list other possible actions, outline guidance on how actions might be achieved and connect you to other tools and resources. To find out more, consult the additional resources on:

• Recommended general actions
• Guidance for effective working through partnerships and community engagement,
• Specific recommendations associated with other vulnerable groups. This is important as many of the factors affecting which people and places are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events are interconnected. The most extremely vulnerable people will be those who have multiple causes for their vulnerability, for example where people who are socially isolated also have other characteristics which affect their vulnerability, such as being older, being in poor health, living in particular types of housing, or being on a low income. 
• Mapped indicators, including maps of some of the possible measures of social isolation in your local area against which you can map additional local data.

 

Back to the top