Bushfire Smoke and Children’s Health—Exploring a Communication Gap

Erin I. Walsh (), Ginny Sargent, Burcu Cevik-Compiegne, Michelle Roberts, Nicola Palfrey, Laura Gooyers-Bourke, Sotiris Vardoulakis and Karima Laachir
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Erin I. Walsh: Population Health Exchange, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Ginny Sargent: Population Health Exchange, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Burcu Cevik-Compiegne: Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Michelle Roberts: Medical School, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Nicola Palfrey: Headspace Australia, 1/1 Torrens St. Braddon, Canberra, ACT 2612, Australia
Laura Gooyers-Bourke: Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss & Grief Network, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Sotiris Vardoulakis: Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network
Karima Laachir: Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-11

Abstract: The “Black Summer” bushfires of 2019/2020 in Australia generated smoke that persisted for over three months, mainly affecting Eastern Australia. Most communication strategies focused on the fire itself, revealing a knowledge gap in effective communication of the impact of bushfire smoke on health, especially for children and those living in non-English speaking minority groups. To address this, semi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken with sixteen adults with caring ( n = 11) or educational ( n = 5) responsibilities for primary-school aged children (5–12 years, with some also having children up to 16 years) who had direct experience of the “Black Summer” bushfires. Overall, 43% ( n = 7) of the sample spoke English as a first language, 25% ( n = 4) spoke Turkish, with the remainder speaking Persian, Arabic, and Spanish. Thematic inductive qualitative content analysis revealed predominant themes of the role of parents and caregivers as conduits and curators of information. Air quality apps were the most common source of information. Language barriers and the lack of child-friendly methods of communication were highlighted as particular challenges. This qualitative study provides evidence for future development of communication strategies to better serve culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and the children in their care.

Keywords: health literacy; wildfires; air pollution; communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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