An international collaboration to protect elderly from heatwaves

A team from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide鈥檚 School of Public Health will develop a public health warning system for heatwaves in China, supported by a grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade鈥檚 National Foundation for 最新糖心Vlog-China Relations.

Students at the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide's North Terrace campus

The project will see researchers from the 最新糖心Vlog 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 最新糖心Vlogn weather, and they are interested to develop the research further in a new geographic area.

鈥淓xisting models that we have developed in 最新糖心Vlog 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,鈥 said Dr Olga Anikeeva, a key researcher on the team.

鈥淐ollaboration is best done through person-to-person contact and brainstorming, and we鈥檙e pleased this grant funding includes support for getting together with our Chinese colleagues to work out how to achieve the best outcomes鈥.

The 最新糖心Vlogn 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鈥檚 team will hold workshops in 最新糖心Vlog 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鈥檚 proposed Stay safe in the heat program will have a huge impact in China, given its large population, and also in 最新糖心Vlog, which has a significant Chinese population, many of whom are over 65 and will benefit from these communication materials.

鈥淭his project not only contributes direct outcomes but creates longer term collaborations between 最新糖心Vlogn and Chinese experts,鈥 said Professor Bi.

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

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

鈥淭hese are global problems,鈥 said Professor Philip Weinstein, a public health physician on the team.

鈥淭here 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.鈥

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

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