O-371 HIGH HEAT DAYS, THERMAL IMPACTS AND EMERGENCY PRESENTATIONS ACROSS RURAL SOUTHWEST VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Abstract Introduction Heat kills more Australians than other natural disasters. On high heat days increased presentations to metropolitan emergency departments (EDs) are reported with little research on rural/regional locations where outdoor workers (farmers) are at thermal risk. Aim This study aimed to determine if ED presentations across the rural southwest region of Victoria, Australia increased on high-heat days in farming and non-farming populations. Materials and Methods This retrospective study used the Rural Acute Hospital Register (RAHDaR) to investigate heat-related presentations to nine emergency departments (ED) located in rural southwest Victoria between 1st February 2017 and January 2020. The ICD-10-AM (Australian Modification) codes associated with heat-impacted conditions were identified from previous research. High-heat days equaled temperatures above 95th percentile. Results There were 61,632 presentations of residents from the nine EDs during the 453 study days. Of these, 3,064 (5.0%) were on high-heat days and 58,568 (95.0%) on non-high heat days. Injury was the most common presentation. On days of high-heat, farmers were 17% less likely to present than non-farmers. However, presentations for circulatory and respiratory conditions increased on high-heat days for farmers. Farmers were more likely to arrive by private transport. Conclusion There is a need for localised public health responses at specific temperature thresholds. Days of high heat saw increased risk of circulatory and respiratory illness particularly for farming communities. However, lower presentations for injuries on high-heat days was seen for both cohorts. New research on comparing ED presentations before heat day with high heat day and 3 days after will be presented.