Isabel Halse

As part of her Master of Advanced Naturopathic Medicine degree, Isabel examined the role of naturopathic and herbal medicine practitioners in disaster management. Inspired by the efforts of naturopaths and herbalists who banded together to create free-of-charge community pop-up clinics following the 2022 Northern NSW and SEQ flood events, she interviewed these practitioners to discover what short-term response and long-term recovery activities they were engaged in, how they thought they could be better prepared for future events, and barriers and enablers to their provision of care. 

“Naturopathic and herbal medicine play a critical role in disaster health management. These practitioners provide the community immune, gut, and nervous system support in a way not seen in conventional medicine.” 

Exploring the Role of Naturopathic and Herbal Medicine in Disaster Management

The results of her initial study established the potential of integrating naturopathic and herbal care in disaster healthcare and highlighted the unique and holistic contribution of naturopaths and herbalists to the healthcare demands and needs of the community in disaster response and recovery. Isabel is now working on getting a team together to develop disaster protocols that might better prepare and equip the professions to respond to future disasters.

Isabel hopes to pursue this novel research area further and help create protocols that will facilitate the smooth and sustainable development of integrative approaches to disaster health management.

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