An international collaboration to protect elderly from heatwaves

The project will see researchers from the University and representatives from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) work together to help protect the health of older people, who are most vulnerable under heatwave conditions.

Professor Peng Bi and his team first developed their Excess Heat Factor (EHF) model for Australian weather, and they are interested to develop the research further in a new geographic area.

“Existing models that we have developed in Australia will be enhanced and adapted to meet Chinese conditions, and will be modified to specifically help protect the elderly from the adverse health effects of excess heat exposure,” said Dr Olga Anikeeva, a key researcher on the team.

“Collaboration is best done through person-to-person contact and brainstorming, and we’re pleased this grant funding includes support for getting together with our Chinese colleagues to work out how to achieve the best outcomes”.

The Australian EHF model is based on climate modelling and is currently operational, and will help inform the development of a parallel system in China. Together with the China CDC, Professor Bi’s team will hold workshops in Australia and China.

Heat exposure is known to make diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease worse, causing many premature deaths.

Education and health promotion materials that specifically target the over-65 population will also be developed as part of the project, to minimise the impact of heatwaves on their wellbeing.

The team’s proposed Stay safe in the heat program will have a huge impact in China, given its large population, and also in Australia, which has a significant Chinese population, many of whom are over 65 and will benefit from these communication materials.

“This project not only contributes direct outcomes but creates longer term collaborations between Australian and Chinese experts,” said Professor Bi.

“There are many problems in public health that can be better solved by pooling expertise and experience, to benefit the health of all people.”

In addition to heat exposure, many other public health disasters associated with climate change are already growing problems in Australia and China, such as drought, flooding, infectious disease transmission and food security.

“These are global problems,” said Professor Philip Weinstein, a public health physician on the team.

“There is no question that projects like this one position the collaborating international teams better to start solving additional problems to improve health at a global level.”

The project will take two years to complete, with the first collaborative international workshop planned for later this year.