Aging in climate change: Unpacking residential mobility and changes of social determinants of health in southern United States

Shangde Gao; Yan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103268

Aging in climate change: Unpacking residential mobility and changes of social determinants of health in southern United States

Health Place. 2024 May 13:88:103268. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103268. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shangde Gao¹, Yan Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, College of Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida, 1480 Inner Road, Gainesville, FL, 32601, USA. Electronic address: gao.shangde@ufl.edu.
² Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, University of Florida, P.O. Box 115706, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. Electronic address: yanw@ufl.edu.

PMID: 38744055
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103268

Abstract

The southern coastal states of the United States are susceptible to extreme weather and climate events. With growing move-in and -out older populations in the region, health implications of their residential mobility lack sufficient knowledge. Using 126,352 person-level records from 2012 to 2021, we examined geospatial and temporal patterns of older populations' residential mobility, considering the changing social determinants of health and disparities. We found the moves of older populations with socioeconomic or health disadvantages were related to increased exposure to environmental hazards and reduced access to health resources. The findings inform targeted strategies for climate adaptation that address the needs of vulnerable aging populations.

Keywords: Climate change; Older populations; Residential mobility; Social determinants of health; Spatiotemporal analysis.