Research

Led by HHRC Director Professor Ollie Jay, and supported by a 5-year NHMRC Project Grant, HHRC researchers assessed low-cost and accessible cooling strategies for the most vulnerable populations during extreme heat. In collaboration with the Montreal Heart Institute, our researchers identified optimal strategies for mitigating heat-related illnesses in older adults with and without cardiovascular disease. Our findings on simple strategies to reduce cardiac strain in older adults in extreme heat were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

HHRI Researchers in collaboration with the Sydney Environment Institute and key stakeholders in government, health and the wider community have developed the HeatWatch application. The HeatWatch application, funded by NSW Reconstruction Authority allows users to estimate a personalised heat health risk. It provides evidenced-based cooling strategies that are easily implementable with the application design and features shaped by direct consultations with community members via focus groups. The HeatWatch application is a user-friendly and practical tool for heatwave health risk management.

HHRI Researchers are leading a groundbreaking clinical trial on the impact of amitriptyline (a common antidepressant) on the ability to physiologically regulate body temperature during extreme heat. This work is led by HHRI PhD Candidate Lily Hospers and HHRI members Professor Andrew McLachlan (Sydney School of Pharmacy), Professor David Le Couteur (Concord Clinical School), and Dr Yorgi Mavros (Sydney School of Health Sciences). This research may lead to more evidenced-based prescriptive practices and advice for practitioners and public health agencies when it comes to prescription medications and their use during extreme heat events.

Funding: NHMRC Investigator Grant.

Dr Yorgi Mavros is leading an NHMRC-funded project to investigate how to improve overnight sleep quality inside insecticide treated mosquito nets in hot night-time environments. This study will define the parameters of a simple cooling device that can be retrofitted at scale into mosquito nets with the goal of increasing compliance with overnight net-use.

Dr Tim English is leading a multi-disciplinary research team to implement pop-up cooling hubs in Sydney for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness during extreme heat events to prevent heat-illness in this population. This research team, which includes members from the HHEATeam (Homelessness and Heat Emergency Activation Team) with St Vincent’s Hospital (Homeless Health Service and Disaster Management Team), and City of Sydney in collaboration with Queensland University of Technology and the University of Technology Sydney, are working towards ensuring that all populations can navigate safely through heatwaves.

Funding: 2022 NHMRC Ideas Scheme

Published in the Lancet Planetary Health 2022, HHRC researchers and collaborators around the world describe how we can change public health guidance without sacrificing thermal comfort during heatwaves. This work on fan-first cooling demonstrates how to curb summer air conditioning-use by increasing indoor air movement using fans to elevate the upper temperature limit for thermal discomfort. When doing so, this research demonstrated that households can reduce electricity consumption and the associated cost of cooling indoor spaces by up to ~70%, ultimately lowering the stress on frail energy infrastructure during hot weather events.

Our work on how to reduce air conditioning-use during Summer was presented on the ABC which you can watch here, and was an anchor episode for the BBC StoryWorks Series called The Climate and Us.

Led by Professor Adrienne Gordon (Central Clinical School), and supported by Wellcome. HHRC Members are leading a multi-country prospective pregnancy cohort field study in India and Bangladesh, and a laboratory-based study in the Thermal Ergonomics Laboratory Climate Chamber to investigate extreme heat and maternal and child health. This research aims to develop a pregnancy-specific thermo-physiological model that determines heat-health risk for women throughout pregnancy. Our work on maternal and child health during extreme heat was featured in Science.

Read more about The HEaT INFORM Pregnancy Study

A study led by HHRI researchers Dr James Smallcombe and Fauzan Bin Maideen reported that covering a pram with a dry flannel or a muslin cloth can heat up the inside of a pram by almost 4 degrees Celsius. Our research showed that if you combine a damp muslin cloth draped over the pram and add a clip-on fan, you can reduce the temperature within the pram by 4.7 degrees Celsius relative to the outside ambient temperature. This study was published in Ergonomics which you can read here, and was also featured in the ABC News. The findings from this study have been translated into a heat-health policy infographic by the Global Heat and Health Information Network which can be found here and a short video which can be watched here.

Since 2019, HHRC Researchers have managed heat stress risk for players at the Australian Open through the development and implementation of a cutting-edge Extreme Heat Policy for tennis.

Across various locations of the Australian Open precinct in Melbourne, HHRC researchers measure the environmental conditions by deploying our patented Environmental Measurement Units (EMUs). These units in association with our Heat Stress Management System, allow for continuous management of the athlete's heat stress risk in real-time. Our Heat Stress Management System has been officially endorsed by the International Olympic Committee to be used for all major outdoor sports at all future Summer Olympic Games starting in Paris in 2024.

Associate Professor Troy Cross is leading an NHMRC Ideas Grant on the Australian environmental challenge of extreme heat with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. To protect against the health impacts of similar future events, evidence-based guidance on PM2.5 levels that should be avoided is urgently needed. This project will systematically identify the PM2.5 levels that different levels of physical activity should be stopped and how these thresholds are altered by temperature, age, and if a person has asthma.

Funding: NHMRC 2023 Ideas Grant Scheme