Influence of the Hazelwood Health Study

A focus for the Hazelwood Health Study throughout its tenure was to ensure that the findings meaningfully influenced public health-related policy and practice. This has been achieved through extensive dissemination of findings to diverse audiences and collaboration and codesign with end-users; including the community, local and State government organisations, medical and allied health services and emergency management agencies. As a result of these efforts, the findings of the Hazelwood Health Study have informed health authorities’ guidelines, decision making and policy around interventions for protecting human health. We are aware of the following impacts of the Study on policy and practice, however, no doubt there are others.

  • Latrobe ELF Study Lead, Professor Fay Johnston, holds dual roles at the University of Tasmania (Head, Environmental Health group) and the Tasmanian Department of Health (Specialist Medical Advisor for Population Health Services). During the extreme bushfire and smoke event in Tasmania in early 2019, Professor Johnston’s advice to relocate smoke-effected communities to safer fire evacuation shelters, and to supply air purifiers so that all shelters had clean air spaces for vulnerable people, was directly informed by Hazelwood Health Study findings.
  • Emergency Management Victoria included Hazelwood Health Study findings in its assessment of the appropriate response to the 2018 peat fire in Cobrico, south-west Victoria, which burned for 50 days; including the temporary relocation of nearby residents. Following the event, Hazelwood Health Study team members met with Emergency Management Victoria leadership for a post-event debrief and further sharing of relevant findings. Subsequent to this, Hazelwood Health Study findings informed the response to the 2019-2020 Port Macquarie peat fire in New South Wales, which burned for 201 days.
  • The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand 2023 position statement on asthma and landscape fire smoke cites seven Hazelwood Health Study scientific manuscripts in relation to its review of the impacts of landscape fire smoke on health, advice for asthma management, smoke mitigation strategies, clinical awareness and public health messaging and preparation. Professor Michael Abramson, who was Hazelwood Health Study Principal Investigator at that time, was Deputy Chair and senior author of this position statement.
  • Professor Johnston drew on Hazelwood Health Study findings in a Medical Journal of Australia article calling for a national health protection strategy. The article advocates that managing the health impacts of fire smoke should be integral to landscape fire planning and emergency responses; that public access to local, user-friendly air quality information and reliable smoke forecasts are essential for managing personal exposure and health; and that consistency of air quality information and accurate, practical and consistent public health advice across jurisdictions is essential.
  • In addition to informing responses to major events and position statements from key organisations, Hazelwood Health Study findings have informed the way that the Victorian Government communicates regarding smoke events. This includes the development of a smoke alert rating scale to help community members gauge potential health risks, and the inclusion of smoke alerts on the VicEmergency app which is the official Victorian State Government app for emergency warnings and information.
  • The Schools Study finding that 22% of students surveyed in 2015 reported mine fire-related posttraumatic stress symptoms suggestive of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prompted considerable discussion with local and state health and education policy makers. On the advice of the Chief Health Officer, special meetings of the Community Advisory Committee and the Clinical Reference group were convened to develop a clinical pathway, which included increasing access to mental health services for young people and producing a fact sheet which was sent to all families participating in the Schools Study.
  • The suite of findings from the Hazelwood Health Study has been cited, among others, as globally significant and an example of the research urgently needed for tackling the ongoing challenges of climate change and increasingly severe fire smoke episodes.

Going beyond the health impacts of the mine fire:

  • Hazelwood Health Study Respiratory Stream findings regarding poorer asthma control informed a public health awareness campaign by the Latrobe Health Assembly highlighting the need for asthma management plans. The campaign was run in 2018 and 2019 and just over half of participants reported not having a current management plan, with most of the participants committing to engaging with their GP to create or update their plans. Other Hazelwood Health Study Respiratory Stream findings regarding e-cigarette use have informed the Latrobe Health Assembly smoking cessation campaigns.
  • Hazelwood Health Study findings showed that more than half of men and women in the Latrobe Valley did not meet recommended intakes of fibre, while 60% of men and 42% of women exceeded recommended dietary sodium intakes. As a result, the Latrobe Health Assembly partnered with Monash University to create the My FoodSwaps project, which aimed to monitor and change the dietary patterns within the Latrobe Valley by introducing a co-designed, community based, innovative, personalised dietary feedback system. The My FoodSwaps project was led by Hazelwood Health Study investigator Associate Professor Tracy McCaffrey and also involved Professor Michael Abramson.
  • The Impact on Community Wellbeing Stream’s ‘Our hopes for the future of Morwell’ photographic exhibition, stemming from participatory action research, provided a vehicle for local community members and groups to present their visions for the future of Morwell and the region, and for this compelling and enduring vision to be disseminated locally and state-wide.
  • Hazelwood Health Study findings were included in the 2019 Supreme Court trial finding the coal mine operators guilty of ten WorkSafe breaches, and an earlier trial which found them guilty of three Environment Protection Act breaches. Specifically, the mine operators were found guilty of polluting the atmosphere so as to make it harmful to health.
  • Professor Michael Abramson was one of few non-fellows invited to a roundtable convened by the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences following the ‘Black Summer’. This resulted in a document providing evidence on the health impacts of Australian bushfires, which was disseminated by the Academy, submitted to a Senate Inquiry and used to brief politicians and other decision makers.
  • The researchers have shared their findings with key state-wide and local organisations including the Department of Health, the Latrobe Health Assembly, the Latrobe Health Advocate, the Gippsland Primary Health Network, and the Latrobe City Council. The researchers have also made presentations to Emergency Management Victoria, the Latrobe Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee, and the Gippsland Regional Emergency Management Planning Committee with a view to informing local and regional emergency management plans.

Information about specific findings are available at https://hazelwoodhealthstudy.org.au/study-findings, which includes brief fact sheets, detailed reports, and published academic articles.

Our Partners

Acknowledgement to Country

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Elders and Traditional Owners of the land where our Study teams are based, particularly the Gunaikurnai peoples of Gippsland.