In recent decades, anthropogenic climate change has led to significant increases in heat wave len... more In recent decades, anthropogenic climate change has led to significant increases in heat wave length and intensity. Many of these heat waves have resulted in substantial impacts on human health. In 2009, the state of Victoria, Australia, experienced several days with maximum temperatures rising 12-15°C above the climatological mean and a marked rise in the human death toll. This study attempts to directly quantify the heat-related human fatalities of the 2009 heatwave attributable to anthropogenic climate change.We focus on changes in return values of heat wave-related mortality. Furthermore, we combine two types of modeling tools. The first is a set of large initial-condition ensembles of simulations from atmosphere-only models from the weather@home/ANZ and C202C+ D&A projects, and large initial-condition ensembles of simulations from atmosphere-ocean models from CMIP6. We compare factual outcomes from year-2009 era periods from historical simulations against counterfactual outcom...
The trajectories of people attempting to reduce harmful methamphetamine use are frequently unders... more The trajectories of people attempting to reduce harmful methamphetamine use are frequently understood within a binary framework of transitioning between states of health and disease. This framework can often be reinforced by service interactions informed by these dominant narratives of recovery and addiction. In this paper, we draw on a critical interactionist analysis of ethnographic fieldwork conducted with people who use methamphetamine, to examine how their experiences could undermine this binary, observing the ways participants experienced growth, change, and progress, without necessarily maintaining abstinence. These findings support a more diverse understanding of drug use trajectories, and we explore the concept of ‘living with drug use’, similar to how people live with other chronic conditions by finding ‘health in illness’. Participant experiences are also interpreted within the context of counter public health, arguing for the recognition and integration of values and goa...
Background Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have disproportionately high rates o... more Background Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have disproportionately high rates of hepatitis C infection. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services play an important role in promoting hepatitis C treatment, but uptake is variable. This study explores the service-level barriers and enablers to hepatitis C screening and treatment among clients of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in South East Queensland. Methods This qualitative study involved yarns with 16 clients and 40 healthcare providers. Thematic analysis was used to identify common barriers and enablers to hepatitis C screening and treatment. Results Common barriers included healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits and inaccurate perceptions of clients’ ability to complete treatment, whereas clients described stigma that resulted in distrust of health care, and experiences of poor relationships and connections with healthcare providers. Enablers included Aboriginal governance of Aboriginal C...
The objective of this study is to determine the impacts of low-intensity heat on human health in ... more The objective of this study is to determine the impacts of low-intensity heat on human health in regions with hot, humid summers. Current literature has highlighted an increase in mortality and morbidity rates during significant heat events. While the impacts on high-intensity events are established, the impacts on low-intensity events, particularly in regions with hot, humid summers, are less clear. A scoping review was conducted searching three databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science) using key terms based on the inclusion criteria. We included papers that investigated the direct human health impacts of low-intensity heat events (single day or heatwaves) in regions with hot, humid summers in middle- and high-income countries. We excluded papers written in languages other than English. Of the 600 publications identified, 33 met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that low-intensity heatwaves can increase all-cause non-accidental, cardiovascular-, respiratory- and diabetes-re...
Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-cdx-10.1177_00914509211031609 for "There's No Sense to ... more Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-cdx-10.1177_00914509211031609 for "There's No Sense to It": A Posthumanist Ethnography of Agency in Methamphetamine Recovery by Samuel Brookfield, Linda Selvey, Lisa Maher and Lisa Fitzgerald in Contemporary Drug Problems
The orthodox construction of agency within addiction recovery discourse is built upon a fault lin... more The orthodox construction of agency within addiction recovery discourse is built upon a fault line between two conflicting principles: that people who use drugs in harmful ways cannot control their behavior, but that they can also regain that control through intentional effort. The conceptual confusion inherent in this framework can harm people using drugs by producing inadequate accounts of commonly invoked aspects of recovery such as “triggers,” “self-control,” and “addictive behavior.” This ethnographic study involved qualitative interviews and observations with nine people over 6 months as they engaged in recovery from harmful methamphetamine use, to explore their experiences of agency, and how these experiences could be shaped by the discourse of volition/compulsion. Thematic analysis was conducted using a posthumanist theoretical framework. We found “relapse triggers” to be diffuse aspects of particular environments rather than specific stimuli, able to provoke what would norm...
Recent modelling studies have shown that timely isolation of contacts can be effective in reducin... more Recent modelling studies have shown that timely isolation of contacts can be effective in reducing the COVID-19 reproduction rate [1]. The epidemiological features of COVID-19 put it in the region where contact tracing is a viable public health strategy but it needs to occur at exceptional speed to control transmission. This need for speed has led policymakers to consider adopting contact tracing apps that enable rapid digital contact tracing. The rapidity and perfect scalability of digital contact tracing make it superior to manual contact tracing for an infection such as COVID-19. However, digital contact tracing has to enable notification of contacts the instant a user becomes positive. Ideally, with a rapid follow-up call by public health officials. A number of contact tracing apps currently deployed – such as the Australian COVIDSafe app – do not allow instantaneous notification and are therefore very limited in their ability to achieve control. Digital tracing apps also requir...
This discussion paper presents a scan of the current status of water, sanitation and hygiene serv... more This discussion paper presents a scan of the current status of water, sanitation and hygiene services and challenges in remote Australian Indigenous communities. It was conducted to make explicit the challenges requiring attention and to propose questions to stimulate discussion as to how various stakeholders can respond to these challenges. It was guided by examples of initiatives that have improved WASH services and behaviours.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 2014
It is worth remembering that perhaps the biggest health impact of mining and burning coal today i... more It is worth remembering that perhaps the biggest health impact of mining and burning coal today is the impact on our climate due to the CO2 that will be released from coal combustion. At Copenhagen in December 2009, world leaders agreed on a target of 2°C warming. At current global emissions we are way off that target, and are set for at least 4°C warming by 2100. If we are going to meet the 2°C degree target, then the world can only emit 1000 billion tonnes of CO2 between 2000 and 2050. In the first 13 years of the century, we’ve already burned 40% of that. If we were to mine and then burn Australia’s known coal reserves, on their own, would use up one-twelfth of the remaining global carbon budget. Whether we burn our coal here or sell it to China, it’s all the same to the atmosphere
Background Campylobacter spp. cause mostly self-limiting enterocolitis, although a significant pr... more Background Campylobacter spp. cause mostly self-limiting enterocolitis, although a significant proportion of cases require hospitalisation highlighting potential for severe disease. Among people admitted, blood culture specimens are frequently collected and antibiotic treatment is initiated. We sought to understand clinical and host factors associated with bacteraemia, antibiotic treatment and isolate non-susceptibility among Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations. Methods Using linked hospital microbiology and administrative data we identified and reviewed Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations between 2004 and 2013. We calculated population-level incidence for Campylobacter bacteraemia and used logistic regression to examine factors associated with bacteraemia, antibiotic treatment and isolate non-susceptibility among Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations. Results Among 685 Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations, we identified 25 admissions for bacteraemia, an estimat...
Communicable diseases intelligence quarterly report, Jun 30, 2014
An increase in off-season (June to September) Ross River virus (RRV) notifications from the great... more An increase in off-season (June to September) Ross River virus (RRV) notifications from the greater Perth metropolitan area was observed from 2006 to 2009. We investigated the increase to determine whether it is likely to have reflected a true increase in off-season cases. A single positive RRV IgM test result is sufficient for RRV notification but where follow-up testing was performed, the positive predictive value of an IgM test where IgG was negative was very low in the off-season and also in the season when using the only commercially available test kit. The increase in off-season notifications was not associated with an increase in off-season testing. Some Perth laboratories use more stringent notification criteria than the nationally agreed RRV case definition, and the geographical distribution of samples tested varies between laboratories. Our findings make a strong case to change the nationally agreed case definition for RRV to not accept a single IgM positive test result as...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
We undertook a scoping study to map the relevant evidence, summarise the findings, and to help id... more We undertook a scoping study to map the relevant evidence, summarise the findings, and to help identify gaps in the knowledge base on the relationship between land use/land-use change and human health in Australia. Our systematic search of the scientific literature for relevant articles up to August 2020 identified 37 articles. All 37 articles meeting our inclusion criteria were published after 2003. Zoonotic or vector-borne disease constituted the most common health outcome type studied. Agriculture/grazing was the land use/land-use change type most frequently represented in the literature, followed by coal seam gas extraction and open cut coal mining. The relationship between land use/land use change and human health in Australia, is not conclusive from the existing evidence. This is because of (1) a lack of comprehensive coverage of the topic, (2) a lack of coverage of the geography, (3) a lack of coverage of study types, and (4) conflicting results in the research already undert...
ABSTRACT In Australia, school-based immunisation programmes (SBIP) provide Human Papillomavirus (... more ABSTRACT In Australia, school-based immunisation programmes (SBIP) provide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations to secondary school students. However, despite such free programmes, around 20% of girls and 25% of boys do not complete all doses. This formative study identified barriers and enablers to vaccine completion. Online surveys were conducted with senior school administrators and nurses from Western Australian secondary schools across all three school sectors. Year 8 students participated in focus group discussions. Parents participated in one-on-one interviews (n = 22). Administrators were supportive of vaccination and the SBIP. Nurses and administrators perceived lack of parental awareness, issues around consent and school absenteeism as the main barriers to completion. Parent and student knowledge concerning HPV, the HPV vaccine and immunisation in general were low. Despite this, students and parents were supportive of the SBIP and wanted the opportunity to learn more about HPV, the vaccination and immunisation in general. There are opportunities for targeted school-based work to increase awareness and provision of consent.
In recent decades, anthropogenic climate change has led to significant increases in heat wave len... more In recent decades, anthropogenic climate change has led to significant increases in heat wave length and intensity. Many of these heat waves have resulted in substantial impacts on human health. In 2009, the state of Victoria, Australia, experienced several days with maximum temperatures rising 12-15°C above the climatological mean and a marked rise in the human death toll. This study attempts to directly quantify the heat-related human fatalities of the 2009 heatwave attributable to anthropogenic climate change.We focus on changes in return values of heat wave-related mortality. Furthermore, we combine two types of modeling tools. The first is a set of large initial-condition ensembles of simulations from atmosphere-only models from the weather@home/ANZ and C202C+ D&A projects, and large initial-condition ensembles of simulations from atmosphere-ocean models from CMIP6. We compare factual outcomes from year-2009 era periods from historical simulations against counterfactual outcom...
The trajectories of people attempting to reduce harmful methamphetamine use are frequently unders... more The trajectories of people attempting to reduce harmful methamphetamine use are frequently understood within a binary framework of transitioning between states of health and disease. This framework can often be reinforced by service interactions informed by these dominant narratives of recovery and addiction. In this paper, we draw on a critical interactionist analysis of ethnographic fieldwork conducted with people who use methamphetamine, to examine how their experiences could undermine this binary, observing the ways participants experienced growth, change, and progress, without necessarily maintaining abstinence. These findings support a more diverse understanding of drug use trajectories, and we explore the concept of ‘living with drug use’, similar to how people live with other chronic conditions by finding ‘health in illness’. Participant experiences are also interpreted within the context of counter public health, arguing for the recognition and integration of values and goa...
Background Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have disproportionately high rates o... more Background Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have disproportionately high rates of hepatitis C infection. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services play an important role in promoting hepatitis C treatment, but uptake is variable. This study explores the service-level barriers and enablers to hepatitis C screening and treatment among clients of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in South East Queensland. Methods This qualitative study involved yarns with 16 clients and 40 healthcare providers. Thematic analysis was used to identify common barriers and enablers to hepatitis C screening and treatment. Results Common barriers included healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits and inaccurate perceptions of clients’ ability to complete treatment, whereas clients described stigma that resulted in distrust of health care, and experiences of poor relationships and connections with healthcare providers. Enablers included Aboriginal governance of Aboriginal C...
The objective of this study is to determine the impacts of low-intensity heat on human health in ... more The objective of this study is to determine the impacts of low-intensity heat on human health in regions with hot, humid summers. Current literature has highlighted an increase in mortality and morbidity rates during significant heat events. While the impacts on high-intensity events are established, the impacts on low-intensity events, particularly in regions with hot, humid summers, are less clear. A scoping review was conducted searching three databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science) using key terms based on the inclusion criteria. We included papers that investigated the direct human health impacts of low-intensity heat events (single day or heatwaves) in regions with hot, humid summers in middle- and high-income countries. We excluded papers written in languages other than English. Of the 600 publications identified, 33 met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that low-intensity heatwaves can increase all-cause non-accidental, cardiovascular-, respiratory- and diabetes-re...
Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-cdx-10.1177_00914509211031609 for "There's No Sense to ... more Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-cdx-10.1177_00914509211031609 for "There's No Sense to It": A Posthumanist Ethnography of Agency in Methamphetamine Recovery by Samuel Brookfield, Linda Selvey, Lisa Maher and Lisa Fitzgerald in Contemporary Drug Problems
The orthodox construction of agency within addiction recovery discourse is built upon a fault lin... more The orthodox construction of agency within addiction recovery discourse is built upon a fault line between two conflicting principles: that people who use drugs in harmful ways cannot control their behavior, but that they can also regain that control through intentional effort. The conceptual confusion inherent in this framework can harm people using drugs by producing inadequate accounts of commonly invoked aspects of recovery such as “triggers,” “self-control,” and “addictive behavior.” This ethnographic study involved qualitative interviews and observations with nine people over 6 months as they engaged in recovery from harmful methamphetamine use, to explore their experiences of agency, and how these experiences could be shaped by the discourse of volition/compulsion. Thematic analysis was conducted using a posthumanist theoretical framework. We found “relapse triggers” to be diffuse aspects of particular environments rather than specific stimuli, able to provoke what would norm...
Recent modelling studies have shown that timely isolation of contacts can be effective in reducin... more Recent modelling studies have shown that timely isolation of contacts can be effective in reducing the COVID-19 reproduction rate [1]. The epidemiological features of COVID-19 put it in the region where contact tracing is a viable public health strategy but it needs to occur at exceptional speed to control transmission. This need for speed has led policymakers to consider adopting contact tracing apps that enable rapid digital contact tracing. The rapidity and perfect scalability of digital contact tracing make it superior to manual contact tracing for an infection such as COVID-19. However, digital contact tracing has to enable notification of contacts the instant a user becomes positive. Ideally, with a rapid follow-up call by public health officials. A number of contact tracing apps currently deployed – such as the Australian COVIDSafe app – do not allow instantaneous notification and are therefore very limited in their ability to achieve control. Digital tracing apps also requir...
This discussion paper presents a scan of the current status of water, sanitation and hygiene serv... more This discussion paper presents a scan of the current status of water, sanitation and hygiene services and challenges in remote Australian Indigenous communities. It was conducted to make explicit the challenges requiring attention and to propose questions to stimulate discussion as to how various stakeholders can respond to these challenges. It was guided by examples of initiatives that have improved WASH services and behaviours.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 2014
It is worth remembering that perhaps the biggest health impact of mining and burning coal today i... more It is worth remembering that perhaps the biggest health impact of mining and burning coal today is the impact on our climate due to the CO2 that will be released from coal combustion. At Copenhagen in December 2009, world leaders agreed on a target of 2°C warming. At current global emissions we are way off that target, and are set for at least 4°C warming by 2100. If we are going to meet the 2°C degree target, then the world can only emit 1000 billion tonnes of CO2 between 2000 and 2050. In the first 13 years of the century, we’ve already burned 40% of that. If we were to mine and then burn Australia’s known coal reserves, on their own, would use up one-twelfth of the remaining global carbon budget. Whether we burn our coal here or sell it to China, it’s all the same to the atmosphere
Background Campylobacter spp. cause mostly self-limiting enterocolitis, although a significant pr... more Background Campylobacter spp. cause mostly self-limiting enterocolitis, although a significant proportion of cases require hospitalisation highlighting potential for severe disease. Among people admitted, blood culture specimens are frequently collected and antibiotic treatment is initiated. We sought to understand clinical and host factors associated with bacteraemia, antibiotic treatment and isolate non-susceptibility among Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations. Methods Using linked hospital microbiology and administrative data we identified and reviewed Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations between 2004 and 2013. We calculated population-level incidence for Campylobacter bacteraemia and used logistic regression to examine factors associated with bacteraemia, antibiotic treatment and isolate non-susceptibility among Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations. Results Among 685 Campylobacter-associated hospitalisations, we identified 25 admissions for bacteraemia, an estimat...
Communicable diseases intelligence quarterly report, Jun 30, 2014
An increase in off-season (June to September) Ross River virus (RRV) notifications from the great... more An increase in off-season (June to September) Ross River virus (RRV) notifications from the greater Perth metropolitan area was observed from 2006 to 2009. We investigated the increase to determine whether it is likely to have reflected a true increase in off-season cases. A single positive RRV IgM test result is sufficient for RRV notification but where follow-up testing was performed, the positive predictive value of an IgM test where IgG was negative was very low in the off-season and also in the season when using the only commercially available test kit. The increase in off-season notifications was not associated with an increase in off-season testing. Some Perth laboratories use more stringent notification criteria than the nationally agreed RRV case definition, and the geographical distribution of samples tested varies between laboratories. Our findings make a strong case to change the nationally agreed case definition for RRV to not accept a single IgM positive test result as...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
We undertook a scoping study to map the relevant evidence, summarise the findings, and to help id... more We undertook a scoping study to map the relevant evidence, summarise the findings, and to help identify gaps in the knowledge base on the relationship between land use/land-use change and human health in Australia. Our systematic search of the scientific literature for relevant articles up to August 2020 identified 37 articles. All 37 articles meeting our inclusion criteria were published after 2003. Zoonotic or vector-borne disease constituted the most common health outcome type studied. Agriculture/grazing was the land use/land-use change type most frequently represented in the literature, followed by coal seam gas extraction and open cut coal mining. The relationship between land use/land use change and human health in Australia, is not conclusive from the existing evidence. This is because of (1) a lack of comprehensive coverage of the topic, (2) a lack of coverage of the geography, (3) a lack of coverage of study types, and (4) conflicting results in the research already undert...
ABSTRACT In Australia, school-based immunisation programmes (SBIP) provide Human Papillomavirus (... more ABSTRACT In Australia, school-based immunisation programmes (SBIP) provide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations to secondary school students. However, despite such free programmes, around 20% of girls and 25% of boys do not complete all doses. This formative study identified barriers and enablers to vaccine completion. Online surveys were conducted with senior school administrators and nurses from Western Australian secondary schools across all three school sectors. Year 8 students participated in focus group discussions. Parents participated in one-on-one interviews (n = 22). Administrators were supportive of vaccination and the SBIP. Nurses and administrators perceived lack of parental awareness, issues around consent and school absenteeism as the main barriers to completion. Parent and student knowledge concerning HPV, the HPV vaccine and immunisation in general were low. Despite this, students and parents were supportive of the SBIP and wanted the opportunity to learn more about HPV, the vaccination and immunisation in general. There are opportunities for targeted school-based work to increase awareness and provision of consent.
Uploads
Papers by Linda Selvey