Human health impacts of climate change

Heat exposure - effects on health and productivity

Planetary Health - Environmental sustainability

Environmental health assessment

Environmental Determinants of Health

Disasters - climate related: Community impacts and resilience & public health responses.

Chemical exposures & Chemical management frameworks

Occupational Health & Safety

Health sector workforce - training, competencies  and skills

2020 - Now completed.

Climate Change and Human Health Expert Consultant to the Victorian Department of Health and Housing Project managed by Climate risk & the University of Technology (Sydney)

"The Cost of Climate Change to the Social Determinants of Health & A Public Housing Transition Business Case for Energy and Thermal Comfort"

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2019-2020 - Now Completed

Climate Change and Human Health Expert Consultant to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Managed by the Australian National University

"Consultancy to prepare a Climate Change and Health Policy and Revised Action Plan
for the Republic of the Marshall Islands"

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Project Leader (CIA) for NHMRC Project Grant: -= Now closed

"Climate Change Impacts on Workplace Heat Extremes: Health Risk Estimates and Adaptive Options"

This project, commenced in 2012,  measured thermal micro environments at worksites across  Australia over summer months, and concurrently measured health and productivity among workers. Analysis involves assessing effects of heat exposure on health and productivty at various locations, to gain an understanding of the differing climatic tolerances in different regions. On-site thermal environments are compared with ‘local’ BoM recordings to measure the urban heat island differentials in occuaptional settings. 

The final aspect of this project involved assessment of the efficacy of various  heat protective policies, as adaptation strategies.

Data collection extended throughout the summer of 2014-15. Heat exposed industries  were invited to contact the project team   summerheat@anu.edu.au.

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“Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries - A Health Overview” -Now closed

This Australian Government  funded project examined the health vulnerabilities among Pacific Island Countries arising from Climate Change. Specific focus was given to:

1.       Vector borne diseases;

2.       Food security and food-borne diseases;

3.       Water security and water-borne diseases;

4.       Direct effects of weather extremes: storms, sea surges, droughts and  increased temperatures; and

5.       Exacerbation of existing chronic health conditions.

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 Chief Investigator - “Changing Heat: direct impacts of temperature on health –  current risks and climate change projections”- NHMRC Project - (Project Leader Dr Keith Dear) (Completed)

As a Chief Investigator in this project I  examined limits to acclimatisation, heat gain and specific characterietiscs contributing to vulnerabilities  to heat exposure.

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 Chief Investigator - “Climate Change & Rural Communities: Integrated study of physical & social impacts, health risks & adaptive options”-NHMRC Project – (Project Leader was Prof Tony McMichael) (Completed)

This large and complex study explored rural communities coping with climate change, with as per their mental health, food issues, and fire exposure.

In this project I was the  Chief Investigator responsible for analysing past physical  health effects of bushfires in Australia, and I will then apply these findings to the future fire regimes under a warming climate (developed by Geoff Cary & Karen King Fenner School ANU) to derive estimate of the future health risks, and service sector demands.

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Convenor: National Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Human Health. (Now defunded)

Funded from Nov 2009 at $240k per annum for 4 years to develop Climate Change Adaptation knowledge and expertise iin Australia.

As an Honarary at ANU,

I am no longer accepting new students

My final PhD candiate is in the process of submitting

The health impacts of climate change in the South Pacific".   PhD candidate Dr Lachlan McIver (Now Completed & Qualified)

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Dr. Daniel Gilfillan - PhD Candidtate: Fenner School of Environment and Society (Now Completed & Qualified)

Research Question

What are the barriers that have inhibited full involvement of regional institutions in supporting, developing and implementing climate change adaptation policies in South East Asia?(1) If these barriers were overcome what role could regional institutions play in the future? (2)

Objectives

In this study I will explore the extent to which climate change impacts are being incorporated into public health and water policies across South East Asia, with a particular focus on the following five objectives:

1. Examine the policy approaches to climate change adaptation by regional bodies, primarily the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and with consideration of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN);
2. Undertake comparative analyses of the national level public health and water policies of Indonesia and the Philippines, and of Vietnam and Cambodia. The analysis will focus on the extent to which the impacts of climate change have been considered in these policies, and what each country can learn from the other.
3. Examine the interplay between regional (supra-national) policy approaches and national public health and water policies and associated activities relating to climate change adaptation. Of particular consideration will be any barriers that have constrained regional institutions from exerting a positive influence over national policies and strategies?
4. Characterise the nature of the linkages that have determined decision making relating to the incorporation of climate change adaptation considerations into public health and water policies, particularly at the regional level; and,

1. Make policy recommendations, particularly for the ADB, which will promote stronger consideration of climate change impacts in public health and water sector policies and strategies within the region.

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Peter Jupp - PhD Candidtate: Fenner School of Environment and Society

Research Question

The research questions posedawere:

• What are the effects of energy on human health, society and the environment?
• What social and environmental interventions might be useful in mitigating any adverse effects?

These questions are important because energy is a fundamental requirement for life and has a profound impact on human health. Accordingly, a better understanding of energy in a human context could lead to interventions that could improve human health and well being.

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The impact of climate change in the Pacific Region on water security, water-borne disease, food security, food-borne disease and vector-borne disease.

Prevention, Evaluation and Policy Project  (PEPP).  4^th Medical Students ANU (Hayley Engel, Haiyao He, Jana Li, Agnes Luty, Rajivi Prematunga, and Paris Ramrakha)  provided an assessment of existing baseline data availability in the Pacific and analysed the existing health status, health threats, resilience and health system responses to these conditions.  This PEPP  project contributed to this larger Pacific Work Program  by examining three of the six priority  issues that have particular clinical relevance:  vector borne diseases, water  and food-borne diseases.  For each health issue, the task was to extend the preparation work of a Discussion Paper, and provide greater detail pertaining to each country using the downscaled climate projections developed by CSIRO.

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Summer Scholar Project - Climate Change Vulnerability in Pacific Island Countries.

This program of work builds on the IPCC’s work on small islands and extends the understanding of climate change impacts in the Pacific. We were tasked with providing a regional assessment of climate change health issues in Pacific Island countries.  Current understandings of the impacts for these countries remains patchy, and is by no means comprehensive, and there appears to be no overarching analysis of vulnerability assessment. Our aim was to generate this information to assist individual nations to prioritise their future activities, and promote adaptive capacity building. The Summer Scholar Project (Marija Apostoloska - Med Student University of Tasmania) conducted background research and prepared the first draft of the Discussion Paper used as a Framework for a regional meeting of health experts in Noumea.

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Summer Scholar Project - Health impacts of heat exposure in ACT- Key Informant Interviews

(Sudhvir Singh - Med Student University of Auckland)

Australian summers are hot, but the effect of hot working conditions in Australian workplaces is unknown. A key informants' survey is needed to scope the views of stakeholders on this issue. We were interested in determining whether industries already recognise that this as a workplace issue, how they currently identify heat stress in the workplace, what mechanisms they currently use for managing or reducing heat stress, and whether they have been able to quantify a change in productivity resulting from hot environmental conditions. This study interviewed key informants from peak industry and union organisations around Australia. The interview questions will be based on the effect of heat on productivity.  Participants were workers and Occupational Health and Safety Officers from peak industry or union organisations, chosen from a variety of industries, to reflect diversity in the types of work practice (i.e. physical or cognitive) and the types of heat exposure (i.e. radiant heat, metabolic heat, and ambient heat).

Accompanying this study was a continuous monitoring temperature and relative humidity at various workplaces and locations around Canberra during a 3 months summer period. This was to determine the small scale variation in thermal conditions, and to compare with Bureau of Meteorology recordings at the Canberra Airport.

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Scope of Australia’s Climate Change Vulnerability & Public Health Policy Needs

Prevention, Evaluation and Policy Project  (PEPP).  4^th Medical Students ANU (Belinda Allan, Corey Dore, Sarah Golding, Perla Moukhaiber, William Mitchell, Gavin Williams) The aim of this project was to provide a background paper on human health vulnerabilities to climate change within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), to assist the development of adaptive measures in population health policy.

Methods

1. Detailed literature review addressing climate change consequences on human health in the context of Australia’s most susceptible environments and population subsets.
2. Demography including analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics population data and extrapolation of climate change predictions to ACT-specific vulnerabilities. This includes subsets of local population most at risk and predictions regarding extent of impact (frequency, duration and intensity) on public health care system.
3. Policy analysis, restricted to the ACT, and the development of recommendations to increase response capacity within the health care system.

Stakeholders include the ACT Government, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Department of Health and Aging, residents of the Australian Capital Territory and climate change working groups. Data was obtained from given resources, literature review, IPCC, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Government Climate Change website and other international sources