U of A-led taskforce leads effort to raise awareness of how medications may increase risk of heat-related illnesses

A new statewide task force led by the Southwest Center on Resilience for Climate Change and Health at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is raising awareness among health care providers and the public about the dangers of extreme heat and the use of certain medications.

“In Arizona, we see heat waves like no other place in the country. Arizona’s heat waves are relentless and intense, challenging both individuals and infrastructure to withstand the extreme temperatures. We developed this task force to raise awareness about dangers people face in extreme heat,” said Mona Arora, PhD, MSPH, an assistant research professor at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and the community engagement core lead for the Southwest Center on Resilience for Climate Change and Health, or SCORCH. “People are taking medications, and their medications influence how their body responds to external stressors such as heat. We want to bring that awareness to our health care provider community.”

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SCORCH leads the Heat and Medications Taskforce, which is an initiative of the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Arizona Heat Preparedness Network. The task force prepares communications and resources to build awareness of the way bodies function when exposed to extreme temperatures and educate people about how medications can increase the risk of heat-related illnesses. 

One of the task force’s first actions was to create the Heat and Medications Information Sheet for Health Care Providers. The guide is intended to alert health care providers to the impact that ambient heat may have on patients taking certain medications. It includes facts about heat-related illnesses, risk factors and recommendations, as well as a list of about 50 medications that could negatively affect patients during times of extreme heat. 

The information sheet includes questions health care providers can ask patients to help them stay safe in extreme heat, including how they keep cool in the summertime and whether they have reliable transportation. It also recommends actions health professionals can take, such as assessing the need to modify medications or dosages, providing patients with a list of symptoms to watch out for and suggesting changes in fluid intake based on prescription medications.

The guide was developed for health care providers, but Arora said anyone can benefit from the information it contains. She encourages people to examine potential heat-related vulnerabilities in themselves and loved ones so they can ask questions and start a dialogue with their health care providers.

“It is not just doctors we are talking about – it is pharmacists, nurses and even social workers. Anyone who is engaging with you and helping you take care of yourself needs to be aware if you are on medications,” Arora said. “We are really encouraging the broader network of providers to be cognizant of all these different background scenarios and factors that are going to be contributing to individual stress and risk.”

Task force members are developing resources for patients to help them stay informed and ask their health care providers the right questions. They also are creating presentations to deliver to health care groups.

The Heat and Medications Taskforce is led by Kacey Ernst, PhD, MPH, department chair and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and co-investigator for SCORCH. Other participants from U of A Health Sciences include Bridget S. Murphy, DBH, an assistant research professor in the Center for Rural Health at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and education and workforce research director for the U of A Health Sciences Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction; Steven Dudley, PharmD, director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy; Brian Drummond, MD, a clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson; Harry McDermott, MD, MPH, a professor at the Zuckerman College of Public Health; Christopher Edwards, PharmD, an associate clinical professor at the Coit College of Pharmacy; Elizabeth Hall-Lipsy, JD, MPH, assistant dean of academic affairs and assessment at the Coit College of Pharmacy; and  Kristie Hoch, DNP, CRNA, an associate clinical professor at the College of Nursing. Additional members of the Heat and Medications Taskforce include Mark Person, Kat Davis, MPH, and Julie Robinson of the Pima County Health Department; Jennifer Botsford, MSPH, and Eugene Livar, MD, from the Arizona Department of Health Services; and Richard Redondo, research and programs manager at the Arizona Community Health Workers Association Inc.