The Australian Government is investing almost $11 million to build Australian research capacity in climate change and related health impacts under the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) 2024 Targeted Call for Research (TCR) into climate-related health impacts and effective interventions to improve health outcomes.
A TCR is a one-time request for grant applications to address a specific health issue where there is significant research knowledge gap or unmet need. TCRs are designed to stimulate research or build research capacity in a specific area of health and medical science to the benefit of Australians.
This comes following the release of Australia's National Health and Climate Strategy at the 28th United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai in 2023. The strategy outlines priorities for the next 5 years to address the health and wellbeing impacts of climate change.
Climate change both directly and indirectly affects the health and wellbeing of all Australians, representing a great threat to the resilience and responsiveness of our national health system.
Ten research teams will work to improve our understanding of current and future impacts of climate change on the health and wellbeing of Australians and on the demand of our health system. Proposed research projects will identify key areas of vulnerability and effective interventions to improve health outcomes, reduce health inequities and increase our national resilience to climate-related health and economic threats.
Projects receiving funding include:
- Platform for Research and Interventions in youth Mental health and the Environment (PRIME): PRIME is a project designed to swiftly address the mental health challenges young Australians face due to climate change through an innovative research platform. By accelerating the development and deployment of targeted interventions, PRIME overcomes the lengthy delays typical of traditional methods. This platform operates across diverse settings, from schools to healthcare facilities, aiming to transform mental health care and foster a resilient, empowered younger generation in Australia.
- REFRESH: Resilience enhancement for workers' fatigue, recovery & safety in the heat: Fuelled by rising temperatures, job-related heat stress will present a critical threat to the health and safety of the Australian workforce. Current OH&S guidelines do not consider how many days have been worked in the heat, or the age or sex of workers. Together with industry partners, this project will identify logistically viable solutions to reduce heat stress, and improve the health and safety of all workers, across multiple sectors, working multiple days in the heat.
- The impact of climate on vector-borne zoonoses in Australia: changing transmission pathways and increased spill-over risks: Greg Devine is a public health entomologist working on the development of innovative approaches to the surveillance and control of arboviruses and the mosquitos that transmit them. He leads the Mosquito Control Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, with a major focus on describing and predicting the transmission pathways of mosquito-borne diseases. These pathways between vertebrate "reservoirs", mosquitos, and humans, will change the climate. Climate affects mosquito survival, the rate at which viruses replicate, and the distribution, abundance and immune status of the wild vertebrates that maintain viruses in the environment. Greg Devine is leading a multidisciplinary project that will generate the evidence and decision-support tools that will enable public health authorities to map emerging threats and facilitate better targeting of vaccines, mosquito control measures and public health messaging.
