Climate change is a major issue facing Australia and the world. The human and social impacts of this change are only just beginning to be recognised. Human adaptation to these changes needs to be quickly advanced if particular at-risk groups are not to be significantly disadvantaged in the future. Although much has been said about the physical changes to climate that can be expected our understanding of the human health and social impacts is still very limited. This conference aims to explore current knowledge about these human health and social impacts, provide information about state of the art practice from Australia and overseas and identify the immediate and longer term priorities for the health and human services sector in Australia.
Conference themes
- Human health and social impacts of climate change
- Reducing morbidity and mortality from the impacts of climate change
- Planning for increased numbers of heatwaves
- Mental health
- Aged care
- Infant and child wellbeing
- Managing people with existing illnesses or conditions
- Emergency management
- Water
- Communicable diseases
- Drought
The Department of Human Services is convening this conference and is seeking abstracts in the listed themes. There will be particular interest in current and future Australian practice relating to climate change and health, including research. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference organising committee and outcomes will be notified by email to the abstract contact approximately six weeks after abstract submission closure. All accepted presenters will qualify for the early registration fee, if registered prior to the early bird deadline.