Climate change and primary health care: towards better regional health impact and risk assessments

Over 1000 papers have been written about the health effects of climate change which is acknowledged to be one of the greatest health threats of the 21st Century.1 Australia is one of the worldfs most climate]vulnerable developed countries. Tasmania has led the nation in loss of farm income due partly to drying conditions2 with anecdotal evidence from primary health care practitioners of health impacts. While recent years have seen the emergence of promising new models for conducting climate change health impact and risk assessments at regional]level,3]7 to date these have not well captured health practitioner assessments of risks, impacts and appropriate adaptations, including in affected rural communities. This research aims to explore internationally relevant methods for developing regional]level responses to the health effects of climate change, and what general practitioners (GPs) might contribute to such impact and risk assessment exercises.