2025 ANZAHPE Grant Submission

Invitation to Collaborate

Climate change is the defining public health and ethical challenge of this generation. For midwifery, a profession grounded in advocacy, equity, and stewardship for future generations, responding is integral to practice. Education is the critical moral lever that equips practitioners to recognise climate-related harm, act responsibly within constrained systems, and advocate for change aligned with professional values. Policy and practice must then translate knowledge into consistent, system-level improvement.

Our international survey, Global perspectives on climate change awareness and sustainable healthcare practices among midwives, has now closed and produced an international dataset on knowledge, attitudes, workplace education, sustainable initiatives, PPE use and disposal, and barriers to change. These data will inform peer-reviewed publications and provide foundational evidence for a 2027 Australian Research Council (ARC) application focused on climate-responsive, environmentally sustainable maternity care.

The ARC program in development will co-design education that embeds sustainability across curricula, develop policy guidance for health services and regulators, and generate implementation resources to shift everyday practice. Consequences of inaction: avoidable harm, widening inequities, and an underprepared workforce are unacceptable for women, babies, and communities who already bear disproportionate climate risk. Our goal is measurable, transferable, and commensurate with the scale of the challenge.

I invite ANZAHPE colleagues to join the ARC team. We are seeking collaborators in health professions education, curriculum design, assessment, simulation, policy development, systems thinking, behaviour change, implementation science, qualitative and mixed methods, and maternity and women’s health. Opportunities include co-analysis, co-authorship, education-focused work packages, and collaborative grant writing.

To express interest or request further information, please contact: Dr Carolyn Hastie, RM, PhD, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University c.hastie@griffith.edu.au

Expressions of interest by 30 April 2026 are welcome; we will convene a meeting to outline roles, timelines, authorship, governance, and pathways for education, policy, and practice impact.

Dr Carolyn Hastie, RM, PhD

Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University

c.hastie@griffith.edu.au