IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i1p114-d1323069.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Climate Change on Aeromedical Retrieval Services in Remote Northern Australia: Planning for a Hotter Future

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Quilty

    (National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, ACT, Australia)

  • Aparna Lal

    (National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, ACT, Australia)

  • Bridget Honan

    (Medical Retrieval and Consultation Centre, Alice Springs Hospital, Alice Springs 0870, NT, Australia)

  • Dan Chateau

    (National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, ACT, Australia)

  • Elen O’Donnell

    (Medical Retrieval and Consultation Centre, Alice Springs Hospital, Alice Springs 0870, NT, Australia)

  • Jodie Mills

    (Careflight Northern Territory, Eaton 0820, NT, Australia)

Abstract

It is known that environmental heat is associated with increased morbidity manifesting as increasing demand on acute care health services including pre-hospital transport and emergency departments. These services play a vital role in emergency care, and in rural and remote locations, where resource capacity is limited, aeromedical and other retrieval services are a vital part of healthcare delivery. There is no research examining how heat impacts remote retrieval service delivery. The Northern Territory (NT) of Australia is characterised by very remote communities with limited acute healthcare capacities and is a region subject to regular extreme tropical heat. In this study, we examine the relationship between aeromedical retrievals and hot weather for all NT retrievals between February 2018 and December 2019. A regression analysis was performed on the number of retrievals by clinical reason for retrieval matched to the temperature on the day of retrieval. There was a statistically significant exposure response relationship with increasing retrievals of obstetric emergencies in hotter weather in the humid climate zone and surgical retrievals in the arid zone. Retrieval services appeared to be at capacity at all times of the year. Given that there are no obstetric services in remote communities and that obstetric emergencies are a higher triage category than other emergencies (i.e., more urgent), such an increase will impede overall retrieval service delivery in hot weather. Increasing surgical retrievals in the arid zone may reflect an increase in soft tissue infections occurring in overcrowded houses in the hotter months of the year. Given that retrieval services are at capacity throughout the year, any increase in demand caused by increasing environmental heat will have broad implications for service delivery as the climate warms. Planning for a hotter future must include building resilient communities by optimising local healthcare capacity and addressing housing and other socioeconomic inequities that amplify heat-related illness.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Quilty & Aparna Lal & Bridget Honan & Dan Chateau & Elen O’Donnell & Jodie Mills, 2024. "The Impact of Climate Change on Aeromedical Retrieval Services in Remote Northern Australia: Planning for a Hotter Future," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(1), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:1:p:114-:d:1323069
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/1/114/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/1/114/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leeann Kuehn & Sabrina McCormick, 2017. "Heat Exposure and Maternal Health in the Face of Climate Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Thomas Longden, 2019. "The impact of temperature on mortality across different climate zones," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 221-242, November.
    3. Hannah M. Mason & Jemma C. King & Amy E. Peden & Kerrianne Watt & Emma Bosley & Gerard Fitzgerald & John Nairn & Lauren Miller & Nicole Mandalios & Richard C. Franklin, 2023. "Determining the Impact of Heatwaves on Emergency Ambulance Calls in Queensland: A Retrospective Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Yohani Dalugoda & Jyothi Kuppa & Hai Phung & Shannon Rutherford & Dung Phung, 2022. "Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-22, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shouro Dasgupta & Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson, 2023. "Climate, weather and child health in Burkina Faso," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(4), pages 576-602, October.
    2. Sylvester Dodzi Nyadanu & Gizachew Assefa Tessema & Ben Mullins & Bernard Kumi-Boateng & Michelle Lee Bell & Gavin Pereira, 2020. "Ambient Air Pollution, Extreme Temperatures and Birth Outcomes: A Protocol for an Umbrella Review, Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Sarah Syed & Tracey L. O’Sullivan & Karen P. Phillips, 2022. "Extreme Heat and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Scoping Review of the Epidemiological Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Germán Caruso & Inés Marcos & Ilan Noy, 2024. "Climate Changes Affect Human Capital," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 157-196, March.
    5. W. J. W. Botzen & M. L. Martinius & P. Bröde & M. A. Folkerts & P. Ignjacevic & F. Estrada & C. N. Harmsen & H. A. M. Daanen, 2020. "Economic valuation of climate change–induced mortality: age dependent cold and heat mortality in the Netherlands," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 545-562, September.
    6. Jeremy B. Trombley & Kamaljit K. Sangha & Alan N. Andersen & Suresh N. Thennadil, 2023. "Utilizing Locally Available Bioresources for Powering Remote Indigenous Communities: A Framework and Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-19, January.
    7. Nicolas Cherbuin & Amita Bansal & Jane E. Dahlstrom & Hazel Carlisle & Margaret Broom & Ralph Nanan & Stewart Sutherland & Sotiris Vardoulakis & Christine B. Phillips & Michael J. Peek & Bruce K. Chri, 2023. "Bushfires and Mothers’ Mental Health in Pregnancy and Recent Post-Partum," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(1), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Filip Franciszek Karuga & Bartosz Szmyd & Karolina Petroniec & Aleksandra Walter & Agnieszka Pawełczyk & Marcin Sochal & Piotr Białasiewicz & Dominik Strzelecki & Maria Respondek-Liberska & Monika Tad, 2022. "The Causes and Role of Antinatalism in Poland in the Context of Climate Change, Obstetric Care, and Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    9. Naughtin, Claire & Hajkowicz, Stefan & Schleiger, Emma & Bratanova, Alexandra & Cameron, Alicia & Zamin, T & Dutta, A, 2022. "Our Future World: Global megatrends impacting the way we live over coming decades," MPRA Paper 113900, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Scorgie, F. & Lusambili, A. & Luchters, S. & Khaemba, P. & Filippi, V. & Nakstad, B. & Hess, J. & Birch, C. & Kovats, S. & Chersich, M.F., 2023. "“Mothers get really exhausted!” The lived experience of pregnancy in extreme heat: Qualitative findings from Kilifi, Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    11. Adebanke L. Adebayo & Rochelle Davidson Mhonde & Nathaniel DeNicola & Edward Maibach, 2020. "The Effectiveness of Narrative Versus Didactic Information Formats on Pregnant Women’s Knowledge, Risk Perception, Self-Efficacy, and Information Seeking Related to Climate Change Health Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-13, September.
    12. Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh & Maya Nabhani & Mandy Taktouk & Lara Nasreddine, 2022. "Climate Change and Nutrition: Implications for the Eastern Mediterranean Region," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-27, December.
    13. Kun Hing Yong & Yen Nee Teo & Mohsen Azadbakht & Hai Phung & Cordia Chu, 2023. "The Scorching Truth: Investigating the Impact of Heatwaves on Selangor’s Elderly Hospitalisations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-13, May.
    14. Maayan Yitshak-Sade & M. Patricia Fabian & Kevin J. Lane & Jaime E. Hart & Joel D. Schwartz & Francine Laden & Peter James & Kelvin C. Fong & Itai Kloog & Antonella Zanobetti, 2020. "Estimating the Combined Effects of Natural and Built Environmental Exposures on Birthweight among Urban Residents in Massachusetts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Lee V. White & Bradley Riley & Sally Wilson & Francis Markham & Lily O’Neill & Michael Klerck & Vanessa Napaltjari Davis, 2024. "Geographies of regulatory disparity underlying Australia’s energy transition," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 92-105, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:1:p:114-:d:1323069. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.