Modeling Wildland Fire-Specific PM2.5 Concentrations for Uncertainty-Aware Health Impact Assessments

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (20) ◽  
pp. 11828-11839
Author(s):  
Xiangyu Jiang ◽  
Eun-Hye Enki Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Impact Assessments

scholarly journals THE USE OF HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS IN WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY FROM ZIMBABWE

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Konradsen ◽  
M. Chimbari ◽  
P. Furu ◽  
M. H. Birley ◽  
N. Ø. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Water Resources Development ◽  
Health Impact Assessments ◽  
Resources Development

Health Impact Assessments and Healthy Schools

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthi Rao ◽  
Catherine L. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Impact Assessments ◽  
Healthy Schools

scholarly journals Valuing environmental health for informed policy-making

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 171-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vojtěch Máca ◽  
Jan Melichar ◽  
Milan Ščasný ◽  
Markéta Braun Kohlová
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
External Costs ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Geographic Coverage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Health Impact Assessments ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Monetized environmental health impact assessments help to better evaluate the environmental burden of a wide range of economic activities. Apart from the limitations and uncertainties in physical and biological science used in such assessments, assumptions taken from economic valuation may also substantially influence subsequent policy-making considerations. Aim: This study attempts to demonstrate the impact of normative policy assumptions on quantified external costs using a case study of recently discussed variants of future coal mining and use of extracted coal in electricity and heat generation in the Czech Republic. Methods: A bottom-up impact-pathway approach is used for quantification of external costs. Several policy perspectives are elaborated for aggregating impacts that differ in geographic coverage and in how valuation of quantified impacts is adjusted in a particular perspective. Results: We find that the fraction of monetized external impacts taken into policy-making considerations may vary according to choice of decision perspective up to a factor of 10. Conclusion: At present there are virtually no hard rules for defining geographical boundaries or adjusting values for a summation of monetized environmental impacts. We, however, stress that any rigorous external cost assessment should, for instance in a separate calculation, take account of impacts occurring beyond country borders.

scholarly journals Quantifying the Health Benefits of Urban Climate Mitigation Actions: Current State of the Epidemiological Evidence and Application in Health Impact Assessments

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. Castillo ◽  
Susan C. Anenberg ◽  
Zoe A. Chafe ◽  
Rachel Huxley ◽  
Lauren S. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Health Impact Assessments

While ambitious carbon reduction policies are needed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, the costs of these policies can be balanced by wide ranging health benefits for local communities. Cities, responsible for ~70% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and home to a growing majority of the world's population, offer enormous opportunities for both climate action and health improvement. We aim to review the current state of knowledge on key pathways leading from carbon mitigation to human health benefits, and to evaluate our current ability to quantify health benefits for cities around the world. For example, because GHGs and air pollutants are both released during fuel combustion, reducing fuel burning can reduce both GHGs and air pollutants, leading to direct health benefits. Air quality improvements may be particularly important for city-scale climate action planning because the benefits occur locally and relatively immediately, compared with the global and long-term (typically, decades to centuries) benefits for the climate system. In addition to improved air quality, actions that promote active transport in cities via improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure can reap large cardiovascular health benefits via increased physical activity. Exposure to green space has been associated with beneficial health outcomes in a growing number of epidemiological studies and meta-analyses conducted around the world. Finally, noise is an underappreciated environmental risk factor in cities which can be addressed through actions to reduce motor vehicle traffic and other noise sources. All of these environmental health pathways are supported by well-conducted epidemiological studies in multiple locales, providing quantitative exposure–response data that can be used as inputs to health impact assessments (HIAs). However, most epidemiologic evidence derives from studies in high-income countries. It is unclear to what extent such evidence is directly transferable for policies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This gap calls for a future focus on building the evidence based in LMIC cities. Finally, the literature suggests that policies are likely to be most effective when they are developed by multidisciplinary teams that include policy makers, researchers, and representatives from affected communities.

scholarly journals Health Impact Assessment: An Information Needs Assessment Across Sectors

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
Wes Quattrone ◽  
Melissa Callaham ◽  
Stephen Brown ◽  
Tatiana Lin ◽  
Jamie Pina
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Health Impact Assessments ◽  
Professional Fields ◽  
The Impact

Background: Over the last decade, the number of health impact assessments (HIAs) conducted has increased. The information contained in these studies provides valuable guidance for stakeholders in many professional fields and industries, also known as sectors. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that practitioners across sectors have unmet information needs and are facing challenges accessing and using information. Methods: The research team conducted a series of focus groups to explore the information needs of practitioners across sectors and to identify challenges they face accessing this information. Participants were stratified by geographic location, sector affiliation, and level of expertise with HIAs. Results: Findings suggest that practitioners from all sectors can benefit from the integration of health-related information, and the information contained in HIAs, into their work. Reported information needs include baseline data, geocoded socio-demographic information, and granular local data. Participants indicated that they obtain information from their professional network, universities sponsoring research, and online resources. Information challenges include lack of data that match the size and the scope of the target area of interest, proprietary or pay-for-access sources, varying terminology for the same concepts across sectors, inadequate resources and HIA expertise for searching, and limited information on the impact of findings of prior completed HIAs. Discussion: Identifying and understanding the information needs of practitioners is essential to maximizing the use of existing and future HIAs. An interactive and comprehensive web-based repository system for HIAs may provide value and assist stakeholders in meeting these needs.

scholarly journals Understanding beverage taxation: Perspective on the Philadelphia Beverage Tax’s novel approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan M. Kane ◽  
Vasanti S. Malik
Keyword(s):  
Policy Process ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Health Impact Assessments ◽  
Political Entrepreneurs

Despite the growing global trend of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes for their potential as an untapped source of revenue and as a public health boon, these legislative efforts remain controversial. Multiple articles have reviewed this trend in recent years from modeling of long-term impacts to short-term empirical studies, yet most comprehensive, long-term health impact assessments remain forthcoming. These multi-faceted efficacy studies combined with case-based assessments of the policy process, descriptive pieces highlighting unique features of the policy and reflective perspectives targeting unanswered questions create a comprehensive body of literature to help inform present and future legislative efforts. The passage of the Philadelphia Beverage tax required a mix of political entrepreneurs, timing and context; while uniquely employing a nonpublic health frame, specific earmarking and a broadened scope with the inclusion of diet beverages. This perspective on the Philadelphia Beverage Tax will describe the passage and novel features of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax with a discussion of the ethical questions unique to this case.

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