Exposure to Multiple Climate Risks in Medically Underserved Areas Across the United States

Abstract

Climate change poses severe and growing threats to public health, particularly through extreme weather events. The United States faces multiple climate-related hazards, including tornadoes, wildfires, and extreme heat, which vary in frequency and severity across regions. These hazards pose risks individually and can also interact, creating cascading effects that further strain communities and healthcare systems. Medically Underserved Areas and Populations (MUA/P) are particularly vulnerable due to limited healthcare access, making assessing the intersection of climate risks and healthcare disparities crucial. This study analyzes multi-risk and cascading climate hazards affecting MUA/P in the contiguous US from 2014 to 2021. Using spatial analysis, we examine the combined impacts of extreme heat, tropical cyclones, wildfires, and power outages to identify high-risk communities. Our findings reveal significant disparities, with rural areas more exposed to hazards like wildfires, extreme heat, and cyclones. These regions with high-hazard exposure and limited healthcare access are at greater risk of adverse health outcomes, exacerbating existing inequities. Understanding these patterns is essential for developing targeted interventions to enhance climate resilience in underserved communities. This study highlights the need to integrate healthcare accessibility into climate risk assessments and prioritize resource allocation to mitigate cascading health impacts.