9 / 2021-05-19 15:10:54

An evolving Australian glossary to support intersectoral climate change and health collaboration

climate change,glossary,shared language,terminology,interdisciplinarity,intersectoral collaboration,climate change and health,health,Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health,wellbeing

Aims

Leading international organisations have developed glossaries relevant to climate change and health, yet many terms require refinement for the Australian context. Our study aimed to develop Australia’s first glossary on health and climate change to support intersectoral research, practice, and policy in the Australian context. The target audience includes researchers collaborating to conduct multi-disciplinary research on health and climate change and end-users needing to understand and use that research to drive change.

Methods                                                                         

The glossary development process included systematic review of existing glossaries and a word frequency analysis of the field’s key reports. Multiple rounds of stakeholder engagement were conducted to identify and choose the most appropriate terms and definitions and inform amendments to several definitions to better suit the Australian context.

Results

We developed a publicly available mega-glossary database of terms following our systematic review; 932 terms and definitions from 44 glossaries.  After stakeholder engagement, our project’s final output is a publicly available Australian-specific climate change and health glossary, with 55 terms and definitions.

Conclusions

Our project contributes an Australian-unique climate change and health glossary, addressing needs for shared terminology in this exponentially growing field. Several definitions integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, and the term ‘Indigenous knowledges’ is included for its importance in sustaining and caring for Country. Numerous definitions have been amended to include considerations of other sentient beings and ecosystems, recognising that human and environmental health are inextricably linked.

We intend to keep our glossary and mega-database live and current by inviting users to suggest amendments to terms and definitions as they evolve.

Policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders from different sectors can refer to our glossary to facilitate discussions and help translate research into policies and practices. By doing so, we can build a shared language to underpin a just transition to a sustainable future for our country.