Fay H Johnston
Biographic Data
| ID | 3422574 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fay H Johnston |
| GIVEN NAMES | Fay H |
| FAMILY NAME | Johnston |
| SIGNATURE | JOHNSTON F H |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Tasmania |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5150-8678 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 36 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Evaluation of the association between air pollution and academic performance in school-aged children in Australia
There is increasing international evidence that exposure to air pollutants such as particulate matter less than 2.5 μ ms in diameter (PM 2.5 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) may be associated with poorer performance in language and numeracy testing in children. This time-series ecological study evaluated the association between annual ambient PM 2.5 and NO 2 exposure and school-level National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) scores…
Respiratory risks from wildfire-specific PM2.5 across multiple countries and territories
Under a warming climate, wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe. Multicountry studies evaluating associations between wildfire fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and respiratory hospitalizations are lacking. Here we evaluate the short-term effects of wildfire-specific PM 2.5 on respiratory hospitalizations from 1,052 communities across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan, during 2000–2019. A 1 μg m …
Health risks of exposure to wildfire-toxic air
Social and health factors influence self-reported evacuation intentions in the wildfire-prone island of Tasmania, Australia
Personal decisions regarding evacuation to a safer place in response to the threat of wildfire have multiple social and cultural influences. However, little is understood about the role of an individual's health in shaping these decisions. Aim: To investigate associations between self-reported sociodemographic and health-related variables and wildfire evacuation intentions. We used data collected in the 2016 Tasmanian Population Health Survey and…
Community education on the health impacts of bushfires
Bushfires and smoke pose substantial risks to physical and mental health across exposed populations. Enhanced community-level knowledge and response capability may promote exposure reduction and therefore protect health, however few interventions exist to achieve this goal. We developed an online short course, ‘Bushfires and Your Health’, and piloted it with older adults as a vulnerable group. We evaluated course satisfaction, factors associated …
Connecting patients notified with hepatitis C to treatment (Connect Study)
This was the first prospective randomised study of the utility of immediate HCV notification follow-up of primary care practitioners to enhance treatment uptake using disease notification surveillance data. We demonstrated improvement in HCV RNA testing and trend toward better engagement in care, but no significant increase in treatment uptake
Smoke pollution must be part of the savanna fire management equation
Savanna fire management is a topic of global debate, with early dry season burning promoted as a large-scale emissions reduction opportunity. To date, discussions have centred on carbon abatement efficacy, biodiversity and cultural benefits and/or risks. Here we use a case study of Darwin, Australia to highlight smoke pollution as another critical consideration. Smoke pollution from savanna fires is a major public health issue, yet absent so far …
Policy Implications for Protecting Health from the Hazards of Fire Smoke. A Panel Discussion Report from the Workshop Landscape Fire Smoke
Globally, and nationally in Australia, bushfires are expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. To date, protection of human health from fire smoke has largely relied on individual-level actions. Recent bushfires experienced during the Australian summer of 2019-2020 occurred over a prolonged period and encompassed far larger geographical areas than previously experienced, resulting in extreme levels of smoke for extend…
Sub-Clinical Effects of Outdoor Smoke in Affected Communities
Many Australians are intermittently exposed to landscape fire smoke from wildfires or planned (prescribed) burns. This study aimed to investigate effects of outdoor smoke from planned burns, wildfires and a coal mine fire by assessing biomarkers of inflammation in an exposed and predominantly older population. Participants were recruited from three communities in south-eastern Australia. Concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) were co…
Can Public Spaces Effectively Be Used as Cleaner Indoor Air Shelters during Extreme Smoke Events
During extreme air pollution events, such as bushfires, public health agencies often recommend that vulnerable individuals visit a nearby public building with central air conditioning to reduce their exposure to smoke. However, there is limited evidence that these "cleaner indoor air shelters" reduce exposure or health risks. We quantified the impact of a "cleaner indoor air shelter" in a public library in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia when conc…
Environmental Hazards and Behavior Change
AirRater is a free smartphone app developed in 2015, supporting individuals to protect their health from environmental hazards. It does this by providing (i) location-specific and near real-time air quality, pollen and temperature information and (ii) personal symptom tracking functionality. This research sought to evaluate user perceptions of AirRater's usability and effectiveness. We collected demographic data and completed semi-structured inte…
Vegetation fires in the Anthropocene
Public Health Messaging During Extreme Smoke Events
Background: Emergency services working to protect communities from harm during wildfires aim to provide regular public advisories on the hazards from fire and smoke. However, there are few studies evaluating the success of public health communications regarding the management of smoke exposure. We explored the responses to smoke-related health advisories of people living in a severely smoke-affected region during extensive wildfires in Tasmania, …
Health Impacts of Ambient Biomass Smoke in Tasmania, Australia
The island state of Tasmania has marked seasonal variations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations related to wood heating during winter, planned forest fires during autumn and spring, and bushfires during summer. Biomass smoke causes considerable health harms and associated costs. We estimated the historical health burden from PM 2.5 attributable to wood heater smoke (WHS) and landscape fire smoke (LFS) in Tasmania between 2010 and …
Avoidable Mortality Attributable to Anthropogenic Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Australia
Ambient fine particulate matter 2.5 ) air pollution increases premature mortality globally. Some PM 2.5 is natural, but anthropogenic PM 2.5 is comparatively avoidable. We determined the impact of long-term exposures to the anthropogenic PM component on mortality in Australia. PM 2.5 -attributable deaths were calculated for all Australian Statistical Area 2 (SA2; n = 2310) regions. All-cause death rates from Australian mortality and population da…
Maternal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Pregnancy Complications in Victoria, Australia
The relationship between maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and pregnancy complications is not well characterized. We aimed to explore the relationship between maternal exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and placental abruption. Using administrative data, we defined a state-wide cohort of singleton pregnancies born …
Unprecedented health costs of smoke-related PM2.5 from the 2019–20 Australian megafires
The Value of Local Heatwave Impact Assessment
Heatwaves have been identified as a threat to human health, with this impact projected to rise in a warming climate. Gaps in local knowledge can potentially undermine appropriate policy and preparedness actions. Using a case-crossover methodology, we examined the impact of heatwave events on hospital emergency department (ED) presentations in the two most populous regions of Tasmania, Australia, from 2008-2016. Using conditional logistic regressi…
Evaluating the Risk of Epidemic Thunderstorm Asthma
Epidemic thunderstorm asthma (ETA) is an emerging public health threat in Australia, highlighted by the 2016 event in Melbourne, Victoria, that overwhelmed health services and caused loss of life. However, there is limited understanding of the regional variations in risk. We evaluated the public health risk of ETA in the nearby state of Tasmania by quantifying the frequency of potential ETA episodes and applying a standardized natural disaster ri…
The Contribution of Geogenic Particulate Matter to Lung Disease in Indigenous Children
Indigenous children have much higher rates of ear and lung disease than non-Indigenous children, which may be related to exposure to high levels of geogenic (earth-derived) particulate matter (PM). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dust levels and health in Indigenous children in Western Australia (W.A.). Data were from a population-based sample of 1077 Indigenous children living in 66 remote communities of W.A. (>2,000…
Human–environmental drivers and impacts of the globally extreme 2017 Chilean fires
Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards
Background: Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to adverse atmospheric conditions including air pollution, aeroallergens such as pollen, and extreme weather events. Public information and advisories are a central component of responses to mitigate the human impacts of environmental hazards. Digital technologies are emerging as a means of providing personalised, timely and accessible warnings. Method: We describe AirRat…
Heatwave and health impact research
BACKGROUND: Observed increases in the frequency and intensity of heatwave events, together with the projected acceleration of these events worldwide, has led to a rapid expansion in research on the health impacts of extreme heat. OBJECTIVE: To examine how research on heatwaves and their health-related impact is distributed globally. METHODS: A systematic review was undertaken. Four online databases were searched for articles examining links betwe…
Critical Review of Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke Exposure
BACKGROUND: Wildfire activity is predicted to increase in many parts of the world due to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns from global climate change. Wildfire smoke contains numerous hazardous air pollutants and many studies have documented population health effects from this exposure. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the evidence of health effects from exposure to wildfire smoke and to identify susceptible populations. METHODS: We…
A transdisciplinary approach to understanding the health effects of wildfire and prescribed fire smoke regimes
Prescribed burning is used to reduce the occurrence, extent and severity of uncontrolled fires in many flammable landscapes. However, epidemiologic evidence of the human health impacts of landscape fire smoke emissions is shaping fire management practice through increasingly stringent environmental regulation and public health policy. An unresolved question, critical for sustainable fire management, concerns the comparative human health effects o…
Healthy Country, Healthy People
Investment in programs that help Indigenous people undertake work maintaining the environmental health of their country has benefits for the environment as well as the physical, mental and cultural health of the Indigenous people involved. For health these findings have direct implications for some national health policies, service provision to homelands, health promotion and Indigenous health research. There are also direct implications for envi…
Unprecedented health costs of smoke-related PM2.5 from the 2019–20 Australian megafires
Human–environmental drivers and impacts of the globally extreme 2017 Chilean fires
Bushfires, Human Health Economics, and Pyrogeography
Bushfires (landscape fires) are a key Earth system process that affects humans and our societies and economies. In a recent article, we explored the coupling of humans to landscape fire through the lens of human health impacts of bushfire smoke. We noted that such an approach demands recognition of the indirect impacts and costs of bushfires that cannot be captured by simplistic proxies such as deaths directly attributable to a fire front. Evalua…
Bushfire Smoke
Carbon-based microscopic particles have provided a crucial line of evidence in understanding the coupling between humans and fires. Through the sedimentary record, they have informed our understandings of the patterns of climate and humans on fire activity through time. The extent of contemporary atmospheric biomass burning emissions has become apparent through satellite monitoring, motivated by concerns about the effect on the climate system. So…
Respiratory risks from wildfire-specific PM2.5 across multiple countries and territories
Under a warming climate, wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe. Multicountry studies evaluating associations between wildfire fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and respiratory hospitalizations are lacking. Here we evaluate the short-term effects of wildfire-specific PM 2.5 on respiratory hospitalizations from 1,052 communities across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan, during 2000–2019. A 1 μg m …
Healthy Country
Wildfire Smoke, Fire Management, and Human Health
Ecohealth and Aboriginal Testimony of the Nexus Between Human Health and Place
Ambient biomass smoke and cardio-respiratory hospital admissions in Darwin, Australia
PM10 derived from vegetation fires was predominantly associated with respiratory rather than cardiovascular admissions. This outcome is consistent with the few available studies of ambient biomass smoke pollution. Indigenous people appear to be at higher risk of cardio-respiratory hospital admissions associated with exposure to PM10
Fire in the Earth System
Burn, Baby, Burn Wildfires can have dramatic and devastating effects on landscapes and human structures and are important agents in environmental transformation. Their impacts on nonanthropocentric aspects of the environment, such as ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon reserves, and climate, are often overlooked. Bowman et al. (p. 481 ) review what is known and what is needed to develop a holistic understanding of the role of fire in the Earth syste…
Pollen Loads and Allergic Rhinitis in Darwin, Australia
Healthy Country, Healthy People
Investment in programs that help Indigenous people undertake work maintaining the environmental health of their country has benefits for the environment as well as the physical, mental and cultural health of the Indigenous people involved. For health these findings have direct implications for some national health policies, service provision to homelands, health promotion and Indigenous health research. There are also direct implications for envi…
The human dimension of fire regimes on Earth
Humans and their ancestors are unique in being a fire-making species, but 'natural' (i.e. independent of humans) fires have an ancient, geological history on Earth. Natural fires have influenced biological evolution and global biogeochemical cycles, making fire integral to the functioning of some biomes. Globally, debate rages about the impact on ecosystems of prehistoric human-set fires, with views ranging from catastrophic to negligible. Unders…
Estimated Global Mortality Attributable to Smoke from Landscape Fires
Background: Forest, grass, and peat fires release approximately 2 petagrams of carbon into the atmosphere each year, influencing weather, climate, and air quality. Objective: We estimated the annual global mortality attributable to landscape fire smoke (LFS). Methods: Daily and annual exposure to particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) from fire emissions was estimated globally for 1997 through 2006 by combining outputs from a…
Bushfires, Human Health Economics, and Pyrogeography
Bushfires (landscape fires) are a key Earth system process that affects humans and our societies and economies. In a recent article, we explored the coupling of humans to landscape fire through the lens of human health impacts of bushfire smoke. We noted that such an approach demands recognition of the indirect impacts and costs of bushfires that cannot be captured by simplistic proxies such as deaths directly attributable to a fire front. Evalua…
Bushfire Smoke
Carbon-based microscopic particles have provided a crucial line of evidence in understanding the coupling between humans and fires. Through the sedimentary record, they have informed our understandings of the patterns of climate and humans on fire activity through time. The extent of contemporary atmospheric biomass burning emissions has become apparent through satellite monitoring, motivated by concerns about the effect on the climate system. So…
Critical Review of Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke Exposure
BACKGROUND: Wildfire activity is predicted to increase in many parts of the world due to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns from global climate change. Wildfire smoke contains numerous hazardous air pollutants and many studies have documented population health effects from this exposure. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the evidence of health effects from exposure to wildfire smoke and to identify susceptible populations. METHODS: We…
A transdisciplinary approach to understanding the health effects of wildfire and prescribed fire smoke regimes
Prescribed burning is used to reduce the occurrence, extent and severity of uncontrolled fires in many flammable landscapes. However, epidemiologic evidence of the human health impacts of landscape fire smoke emissions is shaping fire management practice through increasingly stringent environmental regulation and public health policy. An unresolved question, critical for sustainable fire management, concerns the comparative human health effects o…
Health effects of smoke from planned burns
Planned burns depend on weather conditions and dryness of 'fuels' (i.e. forest). It is potentially possible that no favourable conditions occur during the study period. To reduce the risk of this occurring, three separate locations have been identified as having a high likelihood of planned burn smoke exposure during the study period, with the full study being rolled out in two of these three locations. A limitation of this study is exposure misc…
Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards
Background: Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to adverse atmospheric conditions including air pollution, aeroallergens such as pollen, and extreme weather events. Public information and advisories are a central component of responses to mitigate the human impacts of environmental hazards. Digital technologies are emerging as a means of providing personalised, timely and accessible warnings. Method: We describe AirRat…
Heatwave and health impact research
BACKGROUND: Observed increases in the frequency and intensity of heatwave events, together with the projected acceleration of these events worldwide, has led to a rapid expansion in research on the health impacts of extreme heat. OBJECTIVE: To examine how research on heatwaves and their health-related impact is distributed globally. METHODS: A systematic review was undertaken. Four online databases were searched for articles examining links betwe…
The Value of Local Heatwave Impact Assessment
Heatwaves have been identified as a threat to human health, with this impact projected to rise in a warming climate. Gaps in local knowledge can potentially undermine appropriate policy and preparedness actions. Using a case-crossover methodology, we examined the impact of heatwave events on hospital emergency department (ED) presentations in the two most populous regions of Tasmania, Australia, from 2008-2016. Using conditional logistic regressi…
Evaluating the Risk of Epidemic Thunderstorm Asthma
Epidemic thunderstorm asthma (ETA) is an emerging public health threat in Australia, highlighted by the 2016 event in Melbourne, Victoria, that overwhelmed health services and caused loss of life. However, there is limited understanding of the regional variations in risk. We evaluated the public health risk of ETA in the nearby state of Tasmania by quantifying the frequency of potential ETA episodes and applying a standardized natural disaster ri…
The Contribution of Geogenic Particulate Matter to Lung Disease in Indigenous Children
Indigenous children have much higher rates of ear and lung disease than non-Indigenous children, which may be related to exposure to high levels of geogenic (earth-derived) particulate matter (PM). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dust levels and health in Indigenous children in Western Australia (W.A.). Data were from a population-based sample of 1077 Indigenous children living in 66 remote communities of W.A. (>2,000…
Human–environmental drivers and impacts of the globally extreme 2017 Chilean fires
Vegetation fires in the Anthropocene
Public Health Messaging During Extreme Smoke Events
Background: Emergency services working to protect communities from harm during wildfires aim to provide regular public advisories on the hazards from fire and smoke. However, there are few studies evaluating the success of public health communications regarding the management of smoke exposure. We explored the responses to smoke-related health advisories of people living in a severely smoke-affected region during extensive wildfires in Tasmania, …
Health Impacts of Ambient Biomass Smoke in Tasmania, Australia
The island state of Tasmania has marked seasonal variations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations related to wood heating during winter, planned forest fires during autumn and spring, and bushfires during summer. Biomass smoke causes considerable health harms and associated costs. We estimated the historical health burden from PM 2.5 attributable to wood heater smoke (WHS) and landscape fire smoke (LFS) in Tasmania between 2010 and …
Avoidable Mortality Attributable to Anthropogenic Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Australia
Ambient fine particulate matter 2.5 ) air pollution increases premature mortality globally. Some PM 2.5 is natural, but anthropogenic PM 2.5 is comparatively avoidable. We determined the impact of long-term exposures to the anthropogenic PM component on mortality in Australia. PM 2.5 -attributable deaths were calculated for all Australian Statistical Area 2 (SA2; n = 2310) regions. All-cause death rates from Australian mortality and population da…
Maternal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Pregnancy Complications in Victoria, Australia
The relationship between maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and pregnancy complications is not well characterized. We aimed to explore the relationship between maternal exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and placental abruption. Using administrative data, we defined a state-wide cohort of singleton pregnancies born …
Medicine (28 works) · Environmental health (25 works) · Geography (23 works) · Environmental Science (20 works) · Climate Change and Health Impacts (17 works) · Fire effects on ecosystems (16 works) · Air Quality and Health Impacts (15 works) · Ecology (13 works) · Smoke (13 works) · Biology (12 works)