Year 14 Pilot: How Heat, Housing, and Neighborhoods Affect Older Adults’ Daily Activity and Social Connections

Study year: 2026

PI: Jane Chung

As summers get hotter, older adults face increasing health risks. We know extreme heat is dangerous, but we don’t understand how everyday heat exposure affects older adults’ ability to stay active and socially connected—both crucial for independence and brain health. Most research only checks outdoor temperatures, missing the indoor conditions where people actually spend much of their time. This is especially important because some residents may not have working  air conditioning and may live in neighborhoods that are hotter because they lack tree shade. We will track 30 older adults for 7 days during the summer, measuring indoor and outdoor temperatures, the body’s heat response (e.g., heart rate), and neighborhood and housing characteristics (e.g., type of structure and tree canopy). We will compare these exposures to their daily movement via GPS and their reported social connections to determine whether people in hotter homes or neighborhoods move around less and become more socially isolated. Findings will identify which older adults are most at risk and what helps—whether air conditioning, better insulation, neighborhood trees, or community cooling centers. This evidence will guide housing improvements, city planning programs, and services to help older adults stay active during hot weather.

How This Advances Exposome Science: This study captures the complete heat environment older adults actually experience (indoors, outdoors, and across neighborhoods) rather than relying on weather forecasts, providing a comprehensive view of real-world environmental exposures and their impact on older adults’ activity patterns.