A highly respected Registered Nurse, academic, and policy leader, she has extensive experience in climate health policy and health equity. Her work focuses on advancing health outcomes through research, advocacy, and policy reform, particularly in addressing the health impacts of climate change for Indigenous communities.Her research is guided by a commitment to self-determination and community-led approaches, ensuring that community voices shape policy and practice. Aletha has been instrumental in embedding planetary health principles within national nursing curriculum.
Dr Ward holds several national leadership roles, including Chair of the Climate and Health Faculty at the Australian College of Nursing, Board Director for the Climate and Health Alliance, and Climate and Health representative for the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association. She has served as an expert witness at Senate inquiries, presented at the World Health Organization, and is widely recognised for her contributions to public health policy in climate and health, both nationally and internationally.
Journal Articles
Holmes, Mark E., Ward, Aletha, Ryley, Tim, Fein, Erich C., Martin, Sophia and Ward, Isabella (2025). Climate change and air transport: a bibliometric analysis to guide adaptation policy. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 34 101738, 101738-34. doi: 10.1016/j.trip.2025.101738
Ward, Aletha, Charalambous, Julia, Antoniou, Carolyn, East, Leah, Moroney, Tracey and Levett-Jones, Tracy (2025). Planetary health and nursing: embedding values into standards, behaviours, and education. Nurse Education Today, 153 106806. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106806
Ward, Aletha, Holmes, Mark E., Ward, Isabella, Cornish, Jack, Charalambous, Julia and Levett-Jones, Tracy (2025). Empowering nurses and midwives to speak to the evidence: a contemporary approach to communication, advocacy and activism. Nurse Education Today, 152 106752, 1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106752
Ward, Aletha, Holmes, Mark, Romer, Jethro, Richards, Catelyn and Levett‐Jones, Tracy (2025). Still rowing upstream in climate health advocacy and nursing reform. Nursing Inquiry, 32 (3) e70037, 1-4. doi: 10.1111/nin.70037
Best, Odette, Nielsen, Anne-Maree, Ward, Aletha, Gilbey, Kathryn, Blackman, Renee and Bunda, Tracey (2025). A desk audit of perimenopause and menopause resources on ACCHO websites for Indigenous women. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 42 (2) 2025.422.2093, 2. doi: 10.37464/2025.422.2093
Levett-Jones, Tracy, Zehntner, Chris and Ward, Aletha (2025). Enhancing nursing students’ capacity to respond to extreme weather events using an innovative tabletop simulation activity. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 20 (3), e846-e850. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2025.03.007
Tutticci, Naomi, Fabbro, Letitia Del, Richards, Catelyn, Tulleners, Tracey, Varsani, Devika, Best, Odette and Ward, Aletha (2025). Reconceptualizing nursing curricula for planetary health: a web-based desktop audit. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 20 (2), 106-112. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2024.06.016
Martin, Sophia, Jansen, Sarah, Toole, Annalisa and Ward, Aletha (2025). Exploring access to medicinal cannabis through general practitioners in Australia. Australian Journal of General Practice, 54 (3), 101-108. doi: 10.31128/ajgp-02-24-7155
Levett-Jones, Tracy, Ward, Aletha, Mastorovich, Melissa and Fontenot, Justin (2025). Climate change in nursing education: a bibliometric analysis of scholarly outputs 2002-2024. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 20 (2), 189-196. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2025.02.014
Best, Odette, Richards, Catelyn, Stuart, Lynne, Deravin, Linda and Ward, Aletha (2025). Exploring first nations nursing and midwifery leadership development: an international scoping review. Contemporary Nurse, 61 (4), 1-20. doi: 10.1080/10376178.2025.2461556
Levett-Jones, Tracy, Tunks Leach, Katie J., Rogers, Heidi Honegger, Richards, Catelyn, Best, Odette and Ward, Aletha (2025). Interconnected health: a concept analysis of planetary empathy for healthcare professionals. Nursing Outlook, 73 (1) 102337, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102337
Ward, Aletha and Levett-Jones, Tracy (2025). Transformative education for nurses in the Anthropocene. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 20 (2), 101-102. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2025.02.024
Ward, Aletha, Holmes, Mark E., Ward, Isabella, Lokmic-Tomkins, Zerina, East, Leah and Levett-Jones, Tracy (2025). Environmental, social and governance principles in Australian publicly funded healthcare: an extension of value-based care. Australian Health Review, 49 (2) AH24296, 1-3. doi: 10.1071/ah24296
Holmes, Mark E., Ryley, Tim, Ward, Aletha, Fein, Erich C. and Martin, Sophia (2024). Australasian aviation climate change hazards: a systematic review. Journal of Air Transport Management, 121 102670, 1-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102670
Ward, Aletha, Rogers, Heidi Honegger, Tulleners, Tracey and Levett‐Jones, Tracy (2024). Nursing in 2050: navigating dual realities of climate change in healthcare. Nursing Inquiry, 31 (4) e12666, e12666. doi: 10.1111/nin.12666
Ward, Aletha, Martin, Sophia, Richards, Catelyn, Ward, Isabella, Tulleners, Tracey, Hills, Danny, Wapau, Hylda, Levett-Jones, Tracy and Best, Odette (2024). Enhancing primary healthcare nurses’ preparedness for climate-induced extreme weather events. Nursing Outlook, 72 (5) 102235, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102235
Dillon-Murray, Angela, Ward, Aletha and Soar, Jeffrey (2024). Willingness to reduce animal product consumption: exploring the role of environmental, animal, and health motivations, selfishness, and animal-oriented empathy. Food Ethics, 9 (2) 20, 1-20. doi: 10.1007/s41055-024-00154-w
Ward, Aletha, Best, Odette, Richards, Catelyn, Tunks Leach, Katie J. and Levett-Jones, Tracy (2024). Dear earth: cultivating planetary empathy for the health of all. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 19 (3), 209-210. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2024.04.020
Salehi, Gelareh, Ward, Aletha, Dillon-Murray, Angela, Canseco-Lopez, Fatima and Soar, Jeffrey (2024). Exploring veganism in Australia, France, Spain, and Portugal: a netnographic study using the transtheoretical model. Food, Culture and Society, 28 (1), 102-130. doi: 10.1080/15528014.2024.2351661
Levett-Jones, Tracy, Bonnamy, James, Cornish, Jack, Correia Moll, Elaine, Fields, Lorraine, Moroney Oam, Tracey, Richards, Catelyn, Tutticci, Naomi and Ward, Aletha (2024). Celebrating Australian nurses who are pioneering the response to climate change: a compilation of case studies. Contemporary Nurse, 60 (3), 234-246. doi: 10.1080/10376178.2024.2336230
Martin, Sophia, Richards, Catelyn, Keogh, Samantha and Ward, Aletha (2024). Embedding planetary health in nursing education: exploring the barriers and enablers to implementing changes in undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 19 (2), e261-e268. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2023.11.008
Dillon-Murray, Angela, Ward, Aletha and Soar, Jeffrey (2023). The association between selfishness, animal-oriented empathy, three meat reduction motivations (animal, health, and environment), gender, and meat consumption. Food Ethics, 9 (1) 1, 1-21. doi: 10.1007/s41055-023-00135-5
Best, Odette, Tutticci, Naomi, Heart, Diane, Lokmic-Tomkins, Zerina and Ward, Aletha (2023). Rising to the climate challenge: integrating climate action in the undergraduate curriculum. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 40 (3) 2023.403.1266, 1-2. doi: 10.37464/2023.403.1266
Ekanayake, Siyaguna Kosgamage Dilum Manthinda, Ward, Aletha E., Heart, Diane, Valery, Patricia and Soar, Jeffrey (2023). Improving primary care referral to specialist services: a protocol for a 10-year global systematic review in the Australian context. BMJ Open, 13 (8) e068927, 1-7. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068927
Richards, Catelyn, Holmes, Mark, Nash, Rose and Ward, Aletha (2023). Nursing in the Anthropocene-translating disaster nursing experience into climate crisis nurse education. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 18 (3), e113-e121. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2023.03.017
Ward, Aletha, Heart, Diane, Richards, Catelyn, Bayliss, Luke T., Holmes, Mark, Keogh, Samantha and Best, Odette (2022). Reimagining the role of nursing education in emissions reduction. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 17 (4), 410-416. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2022.02.003
Best, Odette, Cox, Leonie, Ward, Aletha, Graham, Coralie, Bayliss, Luke, Black, Barbara, Burton, Lucinda, Carey, Melissa, Davis, Teresa, Derrington, Kate, Elliott, Jessie, Jayasinghe, Thenuja, Luyke, Trish, Maher, Dianne, McGregor, Rowena, Ng, Linda, O'Malley, Lee, Roderick, Geraldine, Sheridan, Georgina, Stanbury, Linda, Taylor, Melissa, Terry, Victoria, Tulleners, Tracey and Walker, Jan (2022). Educating the educators: implementing cultural safety in the nursing and midwifery curriculum. Nurse Education Today, 117 105473, 105473-117. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105473
Conference Paper
Soar, Jeffrey, Lih, Oh Shu, Wen, Loh Hui, Ward, Aletha, Sharma, Ekta, Deo, Ravinesh C., Barua, Prabal Datta, Tan, Ru-San, Rinen, Eliezer and Acharya, U Rajendra (2023). Deep image analysis for microalgae identification. Information Integration and Web Intelligence 25th International Conference, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 4-6 December 2023. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-48316-5_28