ABSTRACT
The 2019–2020 Australian bushfires were on a geographic scale not seen before in Australia, affecting communities and individuals across the country either through the direct impact of the firefront or through exposure to air pollution from bushfire smoke. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare conducted analyses of the short-term impact of the 2019–2020 bushfires on health, using data from a range of sources that provided information on emergency department presentation, hospitalisation, medical practitioner service use, prescription dispensing and pharmaceutical sales, and physical activity. The results of the analyses indicate a marked effect of the fire on public health, including increases in emergency department presentation and hospitalisation for respiratory conditions (particularly asthma), increases in respiratory medication prescriptions dispensed and over-the-counter sales, as well as modifications in physical activity coinciding with poor air quality. The results of the analyses add to the existing knowledge base of the impacts of bushfires on health and provide information for those in the fields of public health, health service planning, disaster response, and resilience.
