HeatTracking
Heatwaves cause more deaths in Australia than all other natural disasters combined. This trend is expected to become worse with climate change and rapid urbanisation. However, we currently have a limited understanding of heat-related illness in the community. HeatTracking is our team’s latest initiative designed to address this gap.
HeatTracking is a pilot study aiming to improve our understanding of heat-related illness in the community. Our team has prepared a series of special surveys within the FluTracking system. These will be emailed to consenting participants living in South-Eastern Sydney, Western Sydney, North-Western Melbourne, and South-Eastern Melbourne. The first survey is a one-off registration. This will be followed by a short survey sent every Monday morning between 6th January and 3rd March 2025.
What will the surveys ask about?
The registration survey will ask about housing, physical activity, and underlying illness. This will be merged with existing information in FluTracking such as age and sex. The weekly survey will ask about symptoms of heat-related illness in the past week and actions taken to resolve symptoms.
The symptoms we will be asking about are:
- Extreme thirst
- Dizziness/light headedness
- Fainting/collapsing
- Feeling too hot to sleep
- Feeling confused/not able to think properly
- Muscle twitches/cramping
- Lack of coordination/difficulty with movement
- A racing heartbeat
Can I participate if I live outside Sydney or Melbourne? Why are you only focusing on these locations?
Only FluTracking volunteers living in South-Eastern Sydney, Western Sydney, North-Western Melbourne, or South-Eastern Melbourne can participate. If the pilot is successful, we will be looking to expand into other parts of Australia. We are focusing on Sydney and Melbourne for now because both cities have a lot of “urban heat islands”. These are built up areas that trap heat due to their concentration of paved areas and dark surfaces. Western Sydney and North-Western Melbourne have a high density of urban heat islands. South-Eastern Sydney and South-Eastern Melbourne have a lower density of urban heat islands. Comparing areas with a high versus low density of urban heat islands will help assess the health impacts of urban heat islands.
How will the results be reported?
Participants and other stakeholders will receive the interim report in February 2025. The final report will be circulated in April 2025 and may be published in a suitable journal.
What will happen after the HeatTracking pilot study?
We hope it leads to development of a surveillance system for monitoring heat-related illness in Australia.
Where can I find more information on participating in HeatTracking?
Please check out our Participant Information Sheet here.
