DrMike Forrester

Knowledge Areas
Paediatric health care

Clinical Communication Skills

Health sector decarbonisation - Cobenefits for people and planet

Health in all policy advocacy

Projects
Projects in progress:

-Progressing the National Sustainable Asthma Roadmap -https://asthma.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Asthma-Roundtable-Report_DIGITAL_FINAL.pdf 

Stakeholder Roundtable Series completed 2024. (IHT & GLOBE). Partnership with consumer host organisation Asthma Australia. The process brought 50 peak asthma bodies together (Techincal experts, Medical Researchers, Guideline developers, Consumer Rep Groups, Pharmacists, Nursing leaders, Pharma, Gov changemakers etc) to develop recommendations towards improving high value asthma care in Australia, with the cobenefit of decreasing the high propellant-driven greenhouse footprint of current care. Launched by Fed Ass Health MInister Sept 2024.

From late 2024, the focus is on progressing the implementation planning, working key stakeholder orgs and the National Health, Sustainability and Climate Unit. 

-Envirohaler- Development of a zero Global Warming active Dry Powder Inhaler device for sustainable asthma care - (Collaboration with Deakin SEBE). 

-Scope 3 Decarbonisation Opportunities of an all -electric hospital - (Supervision of PhD Candidate-Urvi Thanakar- with co-supervision from Deakin Fac Health and Health Economics, Menzies Inst, Karolinska Inst, Uni of Melb)

-Health sector plastics circular economy -Advisor to PhD Candidate-Omid Zahibi- (Collaboration with Deakin Inst Frontier Materials)

-Balancing environmental sustainability and cost: reusable isolation gowns case study N Dunbar (Co-supervision of successful completion of Masters of Health Economics project- Pub pending)

-Contribution of ultra-processed foods in a sample of Australian hospitals (Collaboration with Deakin IPAN)

-Progressing system-wide Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) implementation in Hospital Food Services (Collaboration with Deakin IPAN, co-supervision of PhD candidate, Sharon Ong)

-WATCH Study - Multi site survey of health worker attitudes to health sector decarbonisation (Collaboration with Monash Planetary Health). Pub pending. 

Partner site projects in progress:

-Multi hospital site reusable gown trial 2024- (Collaboration with University of Melb)

-Strengthening Care for Rural Children - (Collarboarion with UoM / MCRI) NHMRC grant-funded project which aims to deliver and rigorously evaluate a primary health care system strengthening program for rural children