IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 405: & ldquo;Death Is a Possibility for Those without Shelter & rdquo;: A Thematic Analysis of News Coverage on Homelessness and the 2021 Heat Dome in Canada

IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 405: “Death Is a Possibility for Those without Shelter”: A Thematic Analysis of News Coverage on Homelessness and the 2021 Heat Dome in Canada International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph21040405 Authors: Emily J. Tetzlaff Farah Mourad Nicholas Goulet Melissa Gorman Rachel Siblock Sean A. Kidd Mariya Bezgrebelna Glen P. Kenny Among the most vulnerable to the health-harming effects of heat are people experiencing homelessness. However, during the 2021 Heat Dome, the deadliest extreme heat event (EHE) recorded in Canada to date, people experiencing homelessness represented the smallest proportion of decedents (n = 3, 0.5%)—despite the impacted region (British Columbia) having some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. Thus, we sought to explore the 2021 Heat Dome as a media-based case study to identify potential actions or targeted strategies that were initiated by community support agencies, individuals and groups, and communicated in the news during this EHE that may have aided in the protection of this group or helped minimize the mortality impacts. Using media articles collated for a more extensive investigation into the effects of the 2021 Heat Dome (n = 2909), we identified a subset which included content on people experiencing homelessness in Canada (n = 274, 9%). These articles were thematically analysed using NVivo. Three main themes we...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research