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Geodata for Environmental Health

Description

The geodata landscape in Sweden and Europe as a whole is complex, fragmented, and at times duplicative. The commissioning of data, that is, the collection of variables in the field, is rarely undertaken as part of a long-term monitoring program, and rather it is short duration and spatially limited projects that are the norm. At the local level, the data might be acquired to meet specific information needs or in response to the particular interests of environmental health officers or decision makers. Medium/long series of geodata constitute the base to undertaken ad hoc risk assessment, with the long term view to identify which adaptation measures to develop in response to each specific climate change health risks. The lack of data collection strategy, open data, and transparency in metadata are considerable hindrances to the full and efficient exploitation of geodata for environmental health purposes.

Despite difficulties accessing accurate, timely, spatially distributed, and relevant data, research has shown a range of methods that can provide valuable insights into important issues in environmental health. For example, numerical models of noise pollution dispersal are being challenged by conceptually simple empirical models using spatial analysis within a GIS. These offer faster, high resolution but less accurate alternatives to strategic estimates based on acoustic science. Similarly, index and indicator approaches are being used to map pollution vulnerability for groundwater without the need for complex descriptions of transport pathways within bedrock or sediments.

New technology such as satellite sensors for atmospheric composition monitoring or clip-on passive diffusion monitors for air pollution measurement are changing the way science can track events, threats, and behaviours. Spatial energetics, the science of the geography of activity, is utilising new data sources to explore how humans experience their environment and the health outcomes of such experiences. There is simultaneously a growing awareness that different groups perceive and experience their environment differently. For example, the elderly and the young face different challenges and have different preferences and needs. There are differences too between genders and people of different socio-economic status. This is expressed as different behaviours, limitations, and opportunities and ultimately different health outcomes.

Exciting new technologies and a rigorous scientific basis have led to some exciting new approaches to spatial epidemiology and environmental health. They have also highlighted new directions in which research can pursue insights into how the environment affects human health.

 

Reference information

Published in Climate-ADAPT Oct 12 2021   -   Last Modified in Climate-ADAPT Mar 05 2024

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