Queen Mary University of London

ID 419

Our dissemination work will strongly emphasise our findings on impacts of air quality improvements on health inequalities.

Social justice is a key driver of our air pollution work. Poor air quality widens health inequalities because disadvantaged people live in more polluted environments. Our population-based sample is large, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse and reflects the make-up of local populations in London and Luton, both areas with significant socioeconomic deprivation. We are confident our findings will be relevant to people currently underserved by primary care. We will assess health record evidence of reductions in health inequalities across ethnicity and socioeconomic deprivation. Our dissemination work will strongly emphasise our findings on impacts of air quality improvements on health inequalities. We anticipate the following health impacts for patients/service users, carers and/or the public: The ULEZ has delivered an unprecedented improvement in central and inner London’s air quality: 47% and 21% falls respectively in nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a marker of diesel exhaust pollution. In addition, reduced traffic flows lead to reductions in non-exhaust pollution (tyre, brake, road wear). We have recorded an increase in numbers of children in London (compared with Luton, our control site) switching from inactive travel to school (cars, buses) to active travel (walking, cycling, scooting). Improving air quality is an ‘upstream’ intervention capable of improving outcomes (see above) across the life-course. We expect improvements in lung growth and brain development, with health record evidence of reduced infections and asthma attacks, reductions in health inequalities across quintiles of socioeconomic deprivation, and NHS and societal cost savings.

15/08/2024

TRE