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Translational applications will: facilitate novel research into environmental exposure using human health models; identify “hot spots” (locations and points in time with convergent increased environmental and human health risks) rapidly for targeted prevention, interventions, and research;
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Translational applications will: • facilitate novel research into environmental exposure using human health models; • identify “hot spots” (locations and points in time with convergent increased environmental and human health risks) rapidly for targeted prevention, interventions, and research; • provide healthcare practitioners and public health planners with relevant information for improving services for locations and populations identified at risk; • initiate and evaluate interventions to reduce the exposures, and thereby the health effects at both the individual and population levels; • disseminate and provide access to data as part of outreach and engagement with the research community, policymakers and civil society. Linking Human Health and Wellbeing with Weather, Climate, and the EnvironmentLE Fleming, B Golding, A Kessel, A Haines, M Depledge, A Cichowska, D Bloomfield, S Hajat, C Sarran, N Osborne N, Sabel C, Bailey T.European Centre for Environment & Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Truro, Cornwall, UK; University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK; UK Met Office, Exeter, UK; UK Public Health England (PHE), London, UK; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London.Acknowledgements: Funding provided in part by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the European Social Fund (ESF). • The MED-MI (Medical and Environmental Data Mash-up Infrastructure) Partnership brings together leading organisations and researchers in climate, weather, environment, and human health and wellbeing. We will use a set of themed Demonstration Projects to demonstrate the uses of the resource. The following Demonstration Projects have been identified because of: the availability of suitable data sets; the impact of weather and the environment on human health and wellbeing; and the potential clinical and public health relevance, especially in vulnerable populations: • Extreme temperatures, air quality, and mortality • Climate, weather, and infectious diseases • Climate, oceanography, and harmful algal blooms (HABS) “blue sky” initiative Table 1. Summary tables of databases Please note, the tables below provide information on the databases the Partnership has identified as the most likely candidates for use, but we do not intend to restrict our studies to them alone. More details including weblinks on these databases can be found at https://wombat.pcmd.ac.uk/document_manager/documents/files/ecehh/applications/mrc/appendices.pdf (provided with permission). Abstract A large part of the global disease burden can be linked to environmental factors, including climate change, lack of access to clean water/sanitation, habitats for disease vectors, chemical hazards, and air pollution. However, the research into these linkages remains fragmentary, suffering from the lack of common tools and databases for carrying out investigations across the many different scientific and business expertise and resources needed to explore these complex associations. The main aim of this new partnership is to create a central data and analysis source as an internet-based Platform which will be a vital new common resource for medical and public health research in the UK and beyond Methods Existing databases, currently stored in various locations and organisations, will be combined. This will enable climate, weather and environment data to be linked and analysed with human health and wellbeing data. With appropriate confidentiality and ethical safeguards, the Platform will be available to UK and other researchers. Results Themed Demonstration Projects will demonstrate the uses of the resource; they have been identified because of: the availability of suitable data sets; the impact of weather and the environment on human health and wellbeing; and the potential clinical and public health relevance, especially in vulnerable populations. Conclusion A final over-arching objective is to translate and communicate the products, presence, and value of the Platform through the Demonstration Projects, workshops, and an accessible web portal. New partner organisations, in the UK and throughout the world, will be invited to use the Platform, and to help build it further.
