Australian Research on Climate Change and Health Interventions: A Systematic Mapping Review

OBJECTIVES: To review and thematically map published research on health-related climate change mitigation or adaptation interventions in Australia.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic mapping of published peer-reviewed research studies and reviews examining outcomes associated with climate change and health interventions in Australia.

DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar, published from 1 January 2008 to 1 March 2024, and manual searches of peer-reviewed literature.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Eighty-three publications (49 original research, 34 reviews) were included, categorised under four themes: (i) health system decarbonisation (18); (ii) health system adaptation, vulnerability and resilience (24); (iii) health co-benefits of climate change mitigation (9); and (iv) adaptation outside the health system to protect health from climate impacts (26). Six additional studies spanned several of these themes. Ten decarbonisation studies focused on hospital-based clinical care interventions. In comparison, adaptation studies focused on interventions in a wider variety of health services and community settings. Twenty publications focused on heat, with fewer publications on other climate-related hazards (bushfires, floods and droughts). Adaptation interventions largely focused on addressing physical health impacts of climate change, with less attention on psychosocial or mental health impacts. Studies on health co-benefits of mitigation focused on urban greening, shading, cool materials, healthier diets, carbon pricing of food and Indigenous land management. Across all themes, four studies focused on First Nations peoples. Original studies mainly used survey methods, with three studies employing randomised controlled trials and seven using life cycle assessments. Overall, there was limited evidence of stakeholder engagement.

CONCLUSIONS: A sustained increase in research on climate change and health interventions will help realise the vision of 'healthy, climate-resilient communities, and a sustainable, resilient, high quality, net zero health system' of the National Health and Climate Strategy. Evidence from local contexts and priority populations, using interdisciplinary methods and stakeholder engagement, will support action on climate change and health in Australia.