Dr Kathryn Bowen
Areas of expertise
- Epidemiology 111706
- Preventive Medicine 111716
- Environmental And Occupational Health And Safety 111705
- Political Science 1606
Research interests
Climate change and health
Asia Pacific
Governance as a determinant of adaptive capacity in relation to global environmental change
Climate change adaptation and decision-making processes
Links between vulnerability assessments and adaptation activities
Health equity and the effects of climate change
Biography
Kathryn is an Hon. Associate Professor at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, a Senior Fellow at the Research School of Population Health, and an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany (iass-potsdam.de). Kathryn works at the nexus of global environmental change, global health and governance issues primarily in low and middle-income settings. She holds a PhD (ANU), MSc (International Health) (Humboldt & Frei Universities, Berlin) and BA/Psyc (Hons) (Newcastle).
Kathryn holds a number of key international roles, including as a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report, a member of the Science Committee of the World Adaptation Science Program; a member of the Steering Committee of the Future Earth Health Knowledge Action Network (Health KAN), and a member of the Planetary Justice Taskforce as part of the Earth System Governance network.
Kathryn has worked in global health research and policy since 1999, across public, private and university sectors. She is a Research Fellow within the Earth System Governance project, and Alumni of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership.
Kathryn regularly advises the World Health Organization (WHO) on climate change and health, as well as other national and international organisations, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the German Organisation for International Development (GIZ), UNDP, Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank and the City of Melbourne. In Melbourne, she has been working with research and practitioner teams to support the development of tools and mechanisms to strengthen the implementation of locally-based green space projects.
Aside from the IPCC, Kathryn has been a Lead Author in two recent international reports - the UNEP's Global Environment (GEO-6), and Adaptation Gaps Reports. She was also an external reviewer for the 2019 Emissions Gap Report (UNEP).
Along with five friends, she was a founding board member of 'Just Change', a climate change and equity organisation and she sits on an environment advisory committee for the City of Melbourne.
Kathryn is an editor of the journal Globalization and Health, and is a reviewer for many journals, including Social Science and Medicine, Global Health Action, Environmental Research Letters among others.
Kathryn is committed to being part of a solutions-focused sustainability community working to harness skills and passion to support global development that is truly sustainable, healthy and equitable.
Available student projects
I am available to supervise students who are interested in global health and climate change.
Past student projects
Kathryn is currently supervising three PhD students pursuing research on climate change and human health. Kathryn has supervised a number of research theses of Masters of Public Health (MPH) students, as well as medical undergraduate students. Topics have included rainwater harvesting in Cambodia, child health in India, and health systems in Bangladesh.
Publications
- Schwerdtle, P, Bowen, K, McMichael, C et al 2019, 'Human mobility and health in a warming world', Journal of Travel Medicine, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 1-3.
- McClain, S, McMullen, C, Abiodun, B et al 2019, 'Cross-cutting Issues', in Paul Ekins, Joyeeta Gupta & Pierre Boileau (ed.), Global Environment Outlook - GEO-6: Healthy Planet, Healthy People, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 1-30.
- Abiodun, B, Bowen, K, Djalante, R et al 2019, Global Environment Outlook 6 - Chapter 5: Air.
- Workman, A, Blashki, G, Bowen, K et al 2019, 'Health co-benefits and the development of climate change mitigation policies in the European Union', Climate Policy, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 585-597.
- Schwerdtle, P, Bowen, K & McMichael, C 2018, 'The health impacts of climate-related migration', BMC Medicine, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 7pp.
- Workman, A, Blashki, G, Bowen, K et al 2018, 'The Political Economy of Health Co-Benefits: Embedding Health in the Climate Change Agenda', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 15, no. 674, pp. 18pp.
- Ebi, K, Boyer, C, Bowen, K et al 2018, 'Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators for Climate Change-Related Health Impacts, Risks, Adaptation, and Resilience ', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 11pp.
- Bowen, K & Lynch, Y 2017, 'The public health benefits of green infrastructure: The potential of economic framing for enhanced decision-making', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 25, pp. 90-95.
- Bowen, K, Cradock-Henry, N, Koch, F et al 2017, 'Implementing the "Sustainable Development Goals": towards addressing three key governance challenges?collective action, trade-offs, and accountability', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 26, pp. 90-96pp..
- Bowen, K & Ebi, K 2017, 'Health risks of climate change in the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region', WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 3-8pp.
- Nguyen, Q, Miller, F, Bowen, K et al 2017, 'Evaluating capacity for climate change adaptation in the health and water sectors in Vietnam: constraints and opportunities', Climate and Development, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 258-273.
- McIver, L, Bowen, K, Hanna, E et al. 2017, 'A 'Healthy Islands' framework for climate change in the Pacific', Health Promotion International, vol. 32, no. 3.
- McIver, L, Chan, V, Bowen, K et al 2016, 'Review of Climate Change and Water-Related Diseases in Cambodia and Findings from Stakeholder Knowledge Assessments', Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, vol. 28, no. 2S, pp. 49S-58Spp.
- Bowen, K, Miller, F, Dany, V et al 2015, 'The relevance of a coproductive capacity framework to climate change adaptation: Investigating the health and water sectors in Cambodia', Ecology and Society, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 13-13.
- Ebi, K & Bowen, K 2015, 'Extreme events as sources of health vulnerability: Drought as an example', Weather and Climate Extremes, vol. 11, pp. 95-102.
- Bowen, K & Ebi, K 2015, 'Governing the health risks of climate change: Towards multi-sector responses', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 12, pp. 80-85.
- Dany, V, Bowen, K & Miller, F 2015, 'Assessing the institutional capacity to adapt to climate change: a case study in the Cambodian health and water sectors', Climate Policy, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 388-409.
- Bowen, K 2015, 'From Grassroots to Government', in Colin Butler, Jane Dixon & Anthony Capon (ed.), Health of People, Places and Planet: Reflections based on AJ (Tony) McMichael's four decades of contribution to epidemiological understanding, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 421-427.
- Morrow, G & Bowen, K 2014, 'Accounting for health in climate change policies: A case study of Fiji', Global Health Action, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-11.
- Bowen, K, Alexander, D, Miller, F et al 2014, 'Using social network analysis to evaluate health-related adaptation decision-making in Cambodia', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1605-1625.
- Butler, C.D., Stott, R., Bowen, K. et al 2014, 'Climate change and health: From adaptation towards a solution', in C.D. Butler (ed.), Climate Change and Global Health, CABI Publishing, United Kingdom, pp. 284-291.
- Miller, F, Bolitho, A, Jamieson, N et al 2014, 'A Plan to Push Limits? Investigating the ecologically sustainable development dimensions of Melbourne's Central Region sustainable water strategy', Australian Geographer, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 19-35.
- Bowen, K, Ebi, K & Friel, S 2014, 'Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Next steps for cross-sectoral action to protect global health', Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 1033-1040.
- Bowen, K, Ebi, K, Friel, S et al. 2013, 'A multi-layered governance framework for incorporating social science insights into adapting to the health impacts of climate change', Global Health Action, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-6.
- Bowen, K, Miller, F, Dany, V et al. 2013, 'Enabling environments? Insights into the policy context for climate change and health adaptation decision-making in Cambodia', Climate and Development, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 277-287.
- Miller, F & Bowen, K 2013, 'Questioning the assumptions: The role of vulnerability assessments in climate change adaptation', Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 190-197.
- Bowen, K & Friel, S 2012, 'Climate change adaptation: Where does global health fit in the agenda?', Globalization and Health, vol. 8, no. 10, pp. 10-10.
- Bowen, K., Friel, S., Ebi, K., Butler C.D., McMichael A.J. 2012, 'Governing for a Healthy Population: Towards an Understanding of How Decision-Making Will Determine Our Global Health in a Changing Climate', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9, no. 1, pp. 55-72. (Open access.)
- Grundy, J, Bowen, K, Annear, P et al 2012, 'The responsibility to protect: Inequities in international aid flows to Myanmar and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and their impact on maternal and child health', Asian Studies Review, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 171-187.
- Bowen, K, Dzuvichu, B, Rungsung, R et al 2011, 'Life circumstances of women entering sex Work in Nagaland, India', Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 843-851.
- Friel, S, Bowen, K, McMichael, A et al 2011, 'Climate change, non communicable diseases and development: The relationships and common policy opportunities.', Annual Review of Public Health, vol. 32, pp. 133-47.
- Berry, H, Kjellstrom, T & Bowen, K 2010, 'Climate change and mental health: A causal pathways framework', International Journal of Public Health, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 123-132.
- McMichael, A, McMichael, C, Berry, H et al 2010, 'Climate change, displacement and health: Risks and responses', in Jane McAdam (ed.), Climate Change and Displacement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Hart Publishing, Oxford, pp. 191-220.
- Bowen, K 2010, 'Pathways to sex-work in Nagaland, India: Implications for HIV prevention and community mobilisation', AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 228-237.
- Bowen, K, Jorm, A, Arole, S et al. 2010, 'Community beliefs about causes and risks for mental disorders: A mental health literacy survey in a rural area of Maharashtra, India', International Journal of Social Psychiatry, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 606-622.
- Kermode, M, Bowen, K, Arole, S et al 2009, 'Attitudes to people with mental disorders: a mental health literacy survey in a rural area of Maharashtra, India', Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 44, no. 12, pp. 1087-1096.
- Bowen, K 2009, 'Killing time with enjoyment: A qualitative study of initiation into injecting drug use in North-East India', Substance Use and Misuse, vol. 44, no. 8, pp. 1070-1089.
- Kermode, M, Bowen, K, Arole, S et al 2009, 'Community beliefs about treatments and outcomes of mental disorders: A mental health literacy survey in a rural area of Maharashtra, India', Public Health, vol. 123, no. 7, pp. 476-483.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- TRIP Fellowship to strengthen the implementation of local heatwave planning in Victoria (Primary Investigator)
