Increasing heat and other extreme weather events caused by climate change pose a threat to public health and well-being. Particularly at risk are elderly individuals and children, as well as people with pre-existing conditions such as COPD, rheumatism, or cardiovascular diseases.
The KlimaNot project, led by the University Clinic for Trauma Surgery at the University Medicine Magdeburg and methodologically guided by the Robert Koch Institute, investigates the impact of climate change on hospital emergency departments. The goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the spectrum of diseases and the utilization of emergency departments. To achieve this, data from the AKTIN Emergency Department Registry is combined with data from the German Weather Service and the Federal Environment Agency.
The findings related to elderly patients are further supported by additional qualitative data collection at three geriatric medicine clinics in Aachen, Oldenburg, and Regensburg. Additionally, the impact of regional differences is analyzed using emergency department data from Klinikum Stuttgart.
At the Robert Koch Institute, the usability of emergency department data for syndromic surveillance of climate-sensitive emergency visits is being assessed, and corresponding indicators are being developed. Meanwhile, the Institute for Mathematical Optimization at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg is developing models to predict future emergency department utilization under different weather scenarios using machine learning methods. Furthermore, in collaboration with computer scientists from University Hospital Aachen, a web application is being developed to visualize the modeled scenarios.
The KlimaNot project aims to assess the impact of weather changes on emergency care. The project’s findings will serve as an information source and decision-making tool for emergency medicine and will contribute to the development of guidelines and recommendations for clinical patient care.
The KlimaNot project is funded for three years with approximately €1.82 million by the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (FKZ: 01VSF23017).