- Population health impacts of climate change and extreme events (heatwaves, bushfires, floods, droughts)
- Population health impacts of environmental degredation and pollution (air, water, soil, waste)
- Impacts of environmental and climate change on health services (primary care, hospitals, urban health)
Building healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient communities and health services requires scientific evidence, data and tools to inform policies and practices that will mitigate and adapt to climate change and reduce population exposure to environmental extremes, such as heatwaves, bushfires, pollution, floods and droughts.
The HEAL Global Research Centre provides the scientific evidence and technical expertise that underpins climate change risk assessments, vulnerability and adaptation assessments, and national and local actions plans. It aims to protect all people from the health impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and promote climate-resilient and sustainable communities, cities, and health services in Australia and the world.
Drawing on the outstanding inter-disciplinary expertise of the 69ÂÜÀò, embedded in community values and diverse knowledge systems, and on the NHMRC Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network and other collaborations, the HEAL Centre provides a global solutions-focused hub for research and innovation anchored in the nation’s capital.
Environment, Climate Change & Health Risks
Mitigation & Adaptation Solutions
- Evaluation of climate change adaptation solutions (housing, transport, green space, air quality, heat-health plans)
- Evaluation of climate change mitigation co-benefits (clean energy, active travel, electrification)
- Decarbonisation of the health sector (healthcare infrastructure, public health services, treatment and management of patients)
Policy & Practice Implementation
- Implementation of climate and health policy (intervention analysis, health impact assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis)
- Implementation of environmental, public and urban health policy
- Climate, environment and health communication (risk communication, citizen science, behavioural science)
Funded by the NHMRC Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change with a grant of $10 million over five years, the Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network aims to catalyse research, knowledge exchange and translation into policy and practice that will bring measurable improvements to our health, the Australian health system, and the environment.
HEAL Global Research Centre at the 69ÂÜÀò provides leadership, coordination and oversight to the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) network.
The HEAL Network is a broad and diverse coalition of 100 investigators and more than 30 organisations from across Australia that aims to bridge the gap between knowledge and action by bringing together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wisdom, sustainable development, epidemiology, and data science and communication to address environmental and climate change and its impacts on health across all Australian states and territories.
The HEAL Network is regionally distributed and includes multiple communities of practice, comprising researchers, environmental and health practitioners, community organisations, and policy makers. HEAL includes ten interdisciplinary research themes: Indigenous knowledge systems; data and decision support systems; science communication; health system resilience; bushfires and extreme events; food, soil, and water security; biosecurity and emerging infectious diseases; urban health; rural and remote health; and at-risk populations and life course solutions) and a range of research capacity and capability strengthening activities that will support investigators, local services and communities.
Funded by: NHMRC
UC project team: Prof Sotiris Vardoulakis, Assoc Prof Aditya Vyas, Mr Jonathan Ward, Dr Nigel Goodman, Dr Luise Kazda, Dr Ro McFarlane, Ms Nathasha Munasinghe, Dr Enembe Okokon, Ms Daniela Espinoza Oyarce, Dr Kinley Wangdi
External team members:
Reference:
Contact us
We are keen to share our research and collaborate and engage with the community.
Please get in touch with us via heal@canberra.edu.au or 02 6206 5131.