This review aimed to identify health impacts of climate change on persons with disabilities in developing countries as well as factors influencing the vulnerability and resilience of affected individuals to related natural disasters.

PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Embase databases were searched, 2005 to 2023 inclusive, focusing on the keyword terms “persons with disabilities”, “climate change” and “developing countries”. Identified articles were screened for inclusion and qualifying articles received a full-text review. Of 463 articles identified, following removal of six duplicates, 457 articles were screened; 412 were excluded. Of the remaining 45 full-text articles assessed for eligibility, 15 were selected and included in the review with two additional articles from a manual search.

Findings revealed themes including the impact of climate change on the physical and mental health of persons with disabilities in developing countries. The general theme of resilience to natural disasters and specific coping strategies were also elaborated.

While there is increasing recognition of the psychosocial impacts of climate change-related natural disasters on persons with disabilities, there remain significant gaps in awareness of mental health needs and related service provision. Resolving these gaps is indispensable to achieving equitable climate change-related health outcomes in developing countries.