Dr Tannous presented two papers: “Association between home visit programmes and emergency preparedness among elderly vulnerable people in NSW” (co-presented with Fire & Rescue NSW – a true collaborative study with FRNSW, NSW Rural Fire Service and Australian Red Cross) and ‘The Health and Economic Cost of Residential Fires in NSW’ (a 5 year study with initial funding from FRNSW).
This work reflects the importance and impact of natural hazards on the Australian community and the need for emergency services, land managers, all levels of government and the private sector to understand a range of hazards more thoroughly.
The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC had a strong presence at the event, highlighting the fact that skills and interests of different CRCs often overlap, with great potential for mutually beneficial collaborations.
Dr. Tannous said that she is looking forward to establish a more direct link to the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and explore the research opportunities that may arise.
She has also had a paper recently published this week in the Preventive Medicine Reports journal, titled “Socio-demographic predictors of residential fire and unwillingness to call the fire service in New South Wales”.
The paper used NSW Population Health Data in 2014 that determined that 10% of NSW households had a residential fire, of whom 70% did not call the fire brigade, particularly those who spoke languages other than English at home (https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S2211335517300815).
Dr Tannous is an experienced senior health economist in the HMQ (Health Market Quality) program at CMCRC with an active research program in aspects of health economics, economic evaluation studies, and community care.