Responding to heatwave intensity: Excess Heat Factor is a superior predictor of health service utilisation and a trigger for heatwave plans
dc.contributor.author | Scalley, B. | |
dc.contributor.author | Spicer, T. | |
dc.contributor.author | Jian, Le | |
dc.contributor.author | Xiao, J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Nairn, J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Robertson, A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Weeramanthri, T. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2017-01-30T13:46:14Z | |
dc.date.available | 2017-01-30T13:46:14Z | |
dc.date.created | 2016-02-01T00:47:07Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2015 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Scalley, B. and Spicer, T. and Jian, L. and Xiao, J. and Nairn, J. and Robertson, A. and Weeramanthri, T. 2015. Responding to heatwave intensity: Excess Heat Factor is a superior predictor of health service utilisation and a trigger for heatwave plans. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 39 (6): pp. 582-587. | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34865 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1111/1753-6405.12421 | |
dc.description.abstract |
Objective: To determine which measures of heatwave have the greatest predictive power for increases in health service utilisation in Perth, Western Australia. Methods: Three heatwave formulas were compared, using Poisson or zero-inflated Poisson regression, against the number of presentations to emergency departments from all causes, and the number of inpatient admissions from heat-related causes. The period from July 2006 to June 2013 was included. A series of standardised thresholds were calculated to allow comparison between formulas, in the absence of a gold standard definition of heatwaves. Results: Of the three heatwave formulas, Excess Heat Factor (EHF) produced the most clear dose-response relationship with Emergency Department presentations. The EHF generally predicted periods that resulted in a similar or higher rate of health service utilisation, as compared to the two other formulas, for the thresholds examined. Conclusions: The EHF formula, which considers a period of acclimatisation as well as the maximum and minimum temperature, best predicted periods of greatest health service demand. The strength of the dose-response relationship reinforces the validity of the measure as a predictor of hazardous heatwave intensity. Implications: The findings suggest that the EHF formula is well suited for use as a means of activating heatwave plans and identifies the required level of response to extreme heatwave events as well as moderate heatwave events that produce excess health service demand. | |
dc.publisher | Wiley-Blackwell | |
dc.title | Responding to heatwave intensity: Excess Heat Factor is a superior predictor of health service utilisation and a trigger for heatwave plans | |
dc.type | Journal Article | |
dcterms.source.issn | 1326-0200 | |
dcterms.source.title | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health | |
curtin.department | School of Public Health | |
curtin.accessStatus | Open access via publisher |
Files in this item
Files | Size | Format | View |
---|---|---|---|
There are no files associated with this item. |