Health Vulnerability to Climate Change Among Coastal Communities in Bangladesh: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63236/ijmar.2.1.2Keywords:
Climate Change, Health Vulnerability, Coastal Area, Bangladesh, Healthcare Access, quantitative studyAbstract
Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major driver of health vulnerability in the coastal regions of Bangladesh. This study quantitatively examined the relationship between climate change exposure and health vulnerability among coastal residents. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, and data were collected from 386 respondents using a structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, climate exposure, health status, healthcare accessibility, awareness, and institutional support. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests of independence, and the Spearman rank-order correlation, while internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Findings indicated that respondents were highly exposed to multiple climate hazards, particularly cyclones and salinity intrusion, with frequent occurrence and substantial livelihood disruption. Respiratory, skin, and diarrheal diseases were the most commonly reported health conditions. Although climate change awareness was high, participation in formal training and access to government or NGO support remained limited, and most respondents reported difficulties in accessing healthcare, especially during climate-induced disasters. Inferential results revealed significant associations between gender and health status, education and climate awareness, displacement and health outcomes, climate exposure frequency and illness, and healthcare accessibility and health status (p < 0.05). Spearman correlation showed a weak negative relationship between health vulnerability and perception scores, while other associations are not statistically significant. The perception scale demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.691). Overall, the study concluded that climate change significantly increases health vulnerability in coastal Bangladesh through direct environmental exposure and limited healthcare access, highlighting the need for strengthened healthcare systems and institutional support to enhance community resilience.
References
Ahmed, B., Kelman, I., Fehr, H., & Saha, M. (2016). Community resilience to cyclone disasters in coastal Bangladesh. Sustainability, 8(8), 805. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080805
Ashrafuzzaman, M., Gomes, C., & Guerra, J. (2023). The changing climate is changing safe drinking water, impacting health: A case in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh (SWCRB). Climate, 11(7), 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11070146
Berry, H. L., Waite, T. D., Dear, K. B., Capon, A. G., & Murray, V. (2018). The case for systems thinking about climate change and mental health. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 282–290. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0102-4
Cianconi, P., Betrò, S., & Janiri, L. (2020). The impact of climate change on mental health: A systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 74. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00074
Ebi, K. L., & Semenza, J. C. (2008). Community-based adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(5), 501–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.018
Ebi, K. L., Capon, A., Berry, P., Broderick, C., De Dear, R., Havenith, G., Honda, Y., Kovats, R. S., Ma, W., Malik, A., Morris, N. B., Nybo, L., Seneviratne, S. I., Vanos, J., & Jay, O. (2021). Hot weather and heat extremes: Health risks. The Lancet, 398(10301), 698–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)01208-3
Evertsen, K. F. (2023). Women as subjects of risk in Bangladesh’s coastal riskscapes. The Sociological Review, 71(5), 1154–1171. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261231175223
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), & World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023: Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Rome, Italy: FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO.
Haines, A., & Ebi, K. (2019). The imperative for climate action to protect health. New England Journal of Medicine, 380(3), 263–273. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra1807873
Hossain, B., Shi, G., Ajiang, C., Sohel, Md. S., & Yijun, L. (2023). Social vulnerability, impacts and adaptations strategies in the face of natural hazards: Insight from Riverine Islands of Bangladesh. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1737. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16497-8
Hossain, M. S., Rahman, M. M., & Ahmed, S. (2023). Climate change and health vulnerability in coastal Bangladesh: A systematic review. Environmental Health Insights, 17, 1–15.
Islam, M. R., Hasan, M. K., & Uddin, M. S. (2024). Climate change, coastal vulnerability and public health in Bangladesh: Challenges and adaptation strategies. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 10(8).
Islam, T., Haque, Md. Z.-U., Nath, T. K., Karmakar, S., & Baul, T. K. (2025). Perceptions of local communities on climate change and associated impact on livelihood capital in the coastal area of southeastern Bangladesh. Discover Environment, 3(1), 89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00302-x
Khan, A. E., Scheelbeek, P. F., Shilpi, A. B., Chan, Q., Mojumder, S. K., Rahman, A., Haines, A., & Vineis, P. (2014). Salinity in drinking water and the risk of (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in coastal Bangladesh: A case-control study. PLoS One, 9(9), e108715. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108715
Lee, H., & Romero, J. (Eds.). (2023). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC. https://doi.org/10.59327/ipcc/ar6-9789291691647
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (2022). National Adaptation Plan of Bangladesh (2023‐2050). Dhaka, Bangladesh; Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Romanello, M., Di Napoli, C., Green, C., Kennard, H., Lampard, P., Scamman, D., Walawender, M., Ali, Z., Ameli, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Beggs, P. J., Belesova, K., Berrang Ford, L., Bowen, K., Cai, W., Callaghan, M., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Chambers, J., Cross, T. J., … Costello, A. (2023). The 2023 report of the Lancet countdown on health and climate change: The imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms. The Lancet, 402(10419), 2346–2394. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(23)01859-7
Sarkar, S. K., Haydar, M., Rudra, R. R., Mazumder, T., Nur, Md. S., Islam, Md. S., Sany, S. M., Noor, T. A., Ahmed, S., Ahmed, M., Sakib, A., & Ravela, S. (2024). A root-zone soil salinity observatory for coastal Southwest Bangladesh. arXiv, 1–16. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2412.19740
Sultana, R., Irfanullah, H. Md., Selim, S. A., & Alam, Md. S. (2023). Social-ecological vulnerability to climate change and risk governance in coastal fishing communities of Bangladesh. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1174659. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1174659
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2024). Human Development Report 2023-24: Breaking the gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world. New York: UNDP.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). (2023). GAR Special Report 2023: Mapping Resilience for the Sustainable Development Goals. Geneva, Switzerland: UNDRR.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2023). The climate crisis is a child rights crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index. New York, USA: UNICEF.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). Climate change and health. WHO.https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/climate-change-and-health
World Meteorological Organization (WMO). (2024). State of the Global Climate 2024. Geneva, Switzerland: WMO. World Bank. (2022). Bangladesh: Country Climate and Development Report. https://doi.org/10.1596/38181
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Md. Nahid Ahmed, Mehzabin Khatun Mim, Sadia Afroz (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access journal under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Full details of the license are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
