Good Environments

OHID points out:

• Air pollution causes the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and lung cancer, exacerbates asthma and has a contributory role in mortality.
• The annual burden of air pollution in the UK has been estimated to be equivalent to approximately 28,000-36,000 deaths at typical ages and an associated loss of population life of 328,000-416,000 life years lost.
• Air pollution particularly affects people living in polluted areas, those who are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives, and
• those who are more susceptible to health problems caused by air
• pollution, widening health inequalities.

Source: Met Office

OHID’s guidance ‘Climate and health: applying All Our Health’, 2022, highlights that a warming climate affects health in 3 main ways:

1. Effects of extreme weather, such as heatwaves, flooding, wildfire, storms and drought on physical and mental health (for example injuries and trauma, heat-related illness). Such events are expected to increase in frequency and severity in coming years.
2. Effects on the planet’s life-support systems, such as rising sea levels and safe water availability, changing patterns of zoonotic and vector-borne disease (for example malaria, dengue fever), reduced pollination and crop failure leading to food shortages.
3. Effects mediated by social systems, such as livelihood loss, rising prices of food and fuel, supply chain disruption, pressure on health and care services, conflict or forced migration.

 

Our climate impacts many areas of our lives:

Transport – causes air pollution, and our reliance on road travel has led us to be less active.

Housing – inefficient use of energy in homes and rising fuel costs leads to fuel poverty and cold homes, which increases the risks of heart attack and stroke, respiratory illness, falls, accidents and mental illness. Warmer temperatures are a particular risk for the very young and very old, and those with chronic health conditions.

Food – the lack of a balanced diet, and the environmental impact of food production and supply, impacts people’s health.

Green spaces – access to green spaces improves mental health, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, encourages physical activity, and prevents social isolation; however deprived areas tend to have significantly less access to green spaces than affluent areas.

Social and health inequalities – deprived areas have poorer air quality, experience poor housing and fuel poverty, and have a higher flood risk.

OHID recommends health and care professionals:

• Make every contact count – take opportunities to talk to people who use services and their familes about ways to improve their health and impact the environment.
• Encourage people to use low emissions, active travel where possible.
• Help staff and people using services to reduce exposure to air pollution
• Advise vulnerable people how they can keep their homes at a reasonable temperature.
• Encourage a healthy diet, activity and access to green spaces.

The graphic below shows how air pollution can affect people at any age.

Source: OHID

 

OHID recommends that health and care professionals should:

• know the needs of individuals, communities and population and the services available
• consider the resources available in health and wellbeing systems and the potential impact of earlier diagnosis and better management
• understand specific activities which can prevent, protect, and promote public health

 

Health and care professionals could advise people to:

• limit or avoid any strenuous activity in high pollution episodes or areas, especially if they have sore eyes, throat or a cough
• increase the use of asthma relievers as necessary
• reduce exposure to highly polluted outdoor air by closing doors and windows during congested periods
• Informing individuals where to keep up to date with information sources such as air pollution helplines

OHID recommends that healthcare organisations:

• Use low-carbon treatments, technologies and healthcare models where appropriate, for example lower-carbon inhalers for respiratory disease.
• Reduce the use of highly polluting anaesthetic gases.
• Reduce unnecessary use of resources, re-use, recycle and reduce waste wherever possible.
• Actively travel to or at work, using public transport where available, and avoid air travel wherever possible.
• Use communication technology when appropriate to reduce staff and patient travel.
• Embed sustainability into service quality improvement.

• State of the environment: health, people and the environment – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Evidence of impact of environment on health and health inequalities – Health and Sustainable Planning Toolkit (healthsustainabilityplanning.co.uk)
• The state of the environment: health, people and the environment (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• How do our surroundings influence our health?
• The UK environment – fighting pollution, improving our health and saving us money – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
• Understanding the health effects of climate change – UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk)
• Climate and health | What we do | Wellcome
• fair-society-healthy-lives-full-report-pdf.pdf (instituteofhealthequity.org)