Community Health Adaptation & Resilience Mobilization (CHARM) HeatWise

Public Health Institute, California580 enrolled

Overview

Extreme heat events pose serious health risks, especially for communities with limited access to cooling, transportation, or social support. This study pilots and tests HEATwise, a heat preparedness program delivered at trusted community centers in Lake County, California, serving older adults, Tribal members, and people experiencing housing or economic hardship. HEATwise is a 12-week program which includes a group workshop on heat risks and preparedness, one-on-one resource navigation, a community celebration event, and a cooling and emergency supply kit. The pilot phase (2026) will assess feasibility and acceptability at three sites with approximately 60 participants. The full trial (2027-2028) will randomly assign eight sites to receive HEATwise immediately or after a delay, measuring whether the program increases protective behaviors, reduces heat-related symptoms, and strengthens resilience over 12 months.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

580

Conditions

Heat Illness

Interventions

HEATWise consists of structured, facilitator-led training sessions on extreme heat preparedness and response, distribution of heat resilience kits, and community engagement activities designed to promote protective behaviors. The intervention is delivered at the cluster (site) level in community-based settings and focuses on reducing risk of heat-related illness and improving individual and community resilience.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Eligible participants are adults (≥18 years) who have resided in Lake County for at least 6 months, are able to access a phone for study communications, and are willing to provide a valid secondary contact for the duration of the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Participants must also be a recognized member or affiliate of a articipating site, referred by the site, or reside within 5 miles of the site. Individuals are excluded if another household member is already enrolled in the study, if they cannot provide a secondary or emergency contact, are unable to independently complete study activities, or plan to be away for 15 or more consecutive days during the intervention period.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in Symptoms

Change in self-reported heat-illness symptoms: "Self-reported heat stress measure". Range 0-8, with higher scores indicating higher heat stress

Time frame: 3-months post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes

Change in individual and community resilience scores: "Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit"

35 items community resilience measure, outcome is mean score from 1-5 (strongly disagree-strongly agree); 19 items individual resilience measure - outcome is mean score from 1-5 (strongly disagree-strongly agree)

Time frame: Baseline to 15-months post-enrollment (12-month follow-up period)