The Hazelwood Health Study has completed data collection for its 10-year research program. The following FAQs were developed to provide more information about the study design. More information on each of the individual Research Streams.
What was the study about?
- The study was about identifying potential health outcomes in the community which may have resulted from the mine fire smoke. These might include heart and lung disease, cancer or mental health problems.
- Health outcomes in vulnerable groups, such as infants and children, young people, and older people, were of particular interest.
- All residents in the Latrobe Valley and the wider region benefit from the Hazelwood Health Study, not only those who participate directly in the surveys. In addition to addressing community concerns about the impacts of the smoke event, the study collected considerable information about the health and health service use of the local community which will inform future health policy and planning for the region.
How was the scope of the study determined?
- We covered the priority health issues identified by the Department of Health during community consultation sessions in Morwell in May 2014. Since then, additional research questions were also considered, but always with a focus on the ongoing health impacts following the mine fire. It is possible that future studies may be funded to build upon the Hazelwood Health Study and target other areas of importance.
Which towns were included?
- Air pollution exposure modelling showed that Morwell was the most exposed to fine particles from the Hazelwood mine fire with lower exposure across the Latrobe Valley and beyond.
- For the Adult Survey and the associated health assessments it was important that we focused on Morwell as the town which received the highest exposure level as this maximised our chance of identifying significant health outcomes. Air pollution exposure modelling was used to identify Sale as a suitable comparison community with less exposure to the Hazelwood mine fire smoke. Comparisons between the health of Morwell and Sale residents allowed us to identify any differences in health outcomes that may be attributed to the smoke exposure. Detailed exposure modelling for the Latrobe Valley and beyond enabled us to estimate the health outcomes for other areas.
- The Latrobe ELF Study covered the entire Latrobe Valley. The Community Wellbeing stream covered the broader Latrobe Valley and beyond, including an analysis of print, radio and social media which includes state and national media. The Hazelinks stream accessed datasets relating to Morwell, Latrobe Valley,
and the wider region.
What happened and when?
- All Study streams first round of data collection took place at different times and locations in 2016 and 2017 in order to fit in with each other and reduce the burden on the community members and the research team. All streams progressed into follow up stages. More details are available on the Study Timeline page.
Who was invited to participate?
- All streams had criteria that defined who was eligible to participate. More details on the Study locations are available here.
- It was not possible, nor necessary, for the Hazelwood Health Study to interview every person who was in the Latrobe Valley during the mine fire. Having as many eligible people as possible participate in the study streams provided sufficient information about the pattern of health in highly exposed versus less exposed people, which was then able to be generalised to other community members. The inclusion of additional people in the study streams would have made the study larger, longer, more complex, and more expensive, but would not have added value to the results.
I have current concerns about my health. What do I do?
- The study was not about providing medical assistance. Residents with current concerns about their health are encouraged to seek assistance from their local general practitioner.
How did the community have input into the study?
- The study was established in response to the concerns of the local community, so it was important that the study team heard from and worked in partnership with the community. We worked closely with the Latrobe Health Assembly and the Gippsland Primary Health Network and our Scientific Reference Group to ensure we had input from local residents and clinicians as well as leading research experts.
- These groups have also played a key role in making sure that study findings are taken up into policy and practice locally and more widely, improving the response to any future emergency events as well as helping to provide a more locally targeted health service system.
- A core aspect of community engagement was our commitment to providing regular updates to the community as the study progressed, including through our annual community briefings and at other community events. We provided regular updates through the local media (newspaper, TV, radio), as well as kept people updated through our website and social media.
Who were the researchers?
- Although funded by the Victorian Government, the Hazelwood Health Study was led by independent researchers from Monash University in collaboration with Federation University, University of Tasmania, University of Adelaide, and the CSIRO.
- The study team was made up of highly experienced researchers with a strong track record of conducting public health research. The team members brought together expertise in multiple areas including epidemiology, environmental health risk assessment, toxicology, air quality, psychology, health policy and community resilience with between 11 and 40 years of research experience individually. In addition to the core team members, we were also able to capitalise on the skills and experience of other leading experts who comprised our Scientific Reference Group.
What data was collected?
- The Adult Survey collected information such as respiratory and cardiovascular health and other medical conditions, wellbeing and psychological health, level of exposure to the mine fire smoke and health risk factors such as smoking history and work history.
- The Psychological Impacts Stream adult component collected information on psychological health via the 2016-2017 Adult Survey. A follow-up survey was conducted in 2019-2020 which repeated core psychological measures from the original Adult Survey and introduced new measures including resilience and social isolation. A further round of the survey was conducted in 2022.
- The Latrobe Early Life Follow up (ELF) Study collected information about birthweight, lung, heart and blood vessel health and development, and common minor illnesses in infants born between before, during and after the mine fire event.
- The Adult Survey, Hazelinks and the Latrobe ELF Study all collected health service use records, such as those collected by Medicare, Ambulance Victoria and hospitals, and also information about cancers and deaths from databases maintained by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
- The Psychological Impacts Stream Schools Study measured psychological and wellbeing outcomes in school children and monitored educational performance.
- The Older People stream gathered information on the impacts of the mine fire on older people through group discussions with older people and their carers, interviews with stakeholders involved in supporting older people, and a review of the policy decisions made during the event.
- The Community Wellbeing stream gathered community perceptions of the mine fire event’s impact on the community's wellbeing, the effectiveness of rebuilding activities and the elements needed for effective communication during and after an event such as the mine fire.
- The Respiratory Stream invited Adult Survey participants to attend a clinic where a number of tests of lung health were administered. A further round of assessments was completed in 2021 with the final round undertaken in 2023. Adult Survey participants were also invited to participate in a survey on longer-term respiratory outcomes.
- The Cardiovascular Stream invited Adult Survey participants to attend a clinic where a number of tests of heart and blood vessel health were administered. Further cardiovascular outcomes were monitored through the Hazelinks Stream.
How is my privacy protected?
- The Hazelwood Health Study was bound by Commonwealth and State privacy legislation. All information collected is treated with absolute confidentiality and used for health research only. All identified data is held securely to ensure total security, confidentiality and anonymity. Nothing that would identify individual participants has been released publicly.
How was the community notified about the study outcomes?
- Findings were released as soon as they became available. Findings have already been released and can be found on the Study findings page.
