IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v13y2016i12p1196-d84344.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe—A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Li Wang

    (Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands)

  • Buqing Zhong

    (State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China)

  • Sotiris Vardoulakis

    (Environmental Change Department, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Fengying Zhang

    (Department of Environmental Quality Comprehensive Assessment, China National Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing 100012, China)

  • Eva Pilot

    (Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands)

  • Yonghua Li

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Linsheng Yang

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Wuyi Wang

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Thomas Krafft

    (Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter) and NO 2 were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined, but no consistent impact on health equity from the strategies was found. The strategy types aiming to control air pollution in Europe and the health impact assessment methodology were also discussed in this review.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Wang & Buqing Zhong & Sotiris Vardoulakis & Fengying Zhang & Eva Pilot & Yonghua Li & Linsheng Yang & Wuyi Wang & Thomas Krafft, 2016. "Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:12:p:1196-:d:84344
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/12/1196/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/12/1196/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olivier Chanel & Susann Henschel & Patrick G. Goodman & Antonis Analitis & Richard Atkinson & Alain Le Tertre & Ariana Zeka & S. Médina, 2014. "Economic valuation of the mortality benefits of a regulation on SO2 in 20 European cities," Post-Print hal-01463922, HAL.
    2. Tarik Benmarhnia & Lynda Rey & Yuri Cartier & Christelle Clary & Séverine Deguen & Astrid Brousselle, 2014. "Addressing equity in interventions to reduce air pollution in urban areas: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 59(6), pages 933-944, December.
    3. Neidell, Matthew J., 2004. "Air pollution, health, and socio-economic status: the effect of outdoor air quality on childhood asthma," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1209-1236, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nicholas A. Mailloux & Colleen P. Henegan & Dorothy Lsoto & Kristen P. Patterson & Paul C. West & Jonathan A. Foley & Jonathan A. Patz, 2021. "Climate Solutions Double as Health Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Maksymilian Mądziel, 2023. "Vehicle Emission Models and Traffic Simulators: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-31, May.
    3. Soheil Sohrabi & Joe Zietsman & Haneen Khreis, 2020. "Burden of Disease Assessment of Ambient Air Pollution and Premature Mortality in Urban Areas: The Role of Socioeconomic Status and Transportation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Wei Gao & Ruoxiang Tu & Hao Li & Yongli Fang & Qingmin Que, 2020. "In the Subtropical Monsoon Climate High-Density City, What Features of the Neighborhood Environment Matter Most for Public Health?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Tao Zhang & Yung-ho Chiu & Ying Li & Tai-Yu Lin, 2018. "Air Pollutant and Health-Efficiency Evaluation Based on a Dynamic Network Data Envelopment Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raffin, Natacha & Seegmuller, Thomas, 2014. "Longevity, pollution and growth," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 22-33.
    2. Ziebarth, N. R. & Schmitt, M. & Karlsson, M., 2013. "The short-term population health effects of weather and pollution: implications of climate change," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 13/34, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    3. Janet Currie & Joshua Graff Zivin & Katherine Meckel & Matthew Neidell & Wolfram Schlenker, 2013. "Something in the water: contaminated drinking water and infant health," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(3), pages 791-810, August.
    4. Evangelina Dardati & Ramiro de Elejalde & Eugenio Giolito, 2024. "On the short‐term impact of pollution: The effect of PM 2.5 on emergency room visits," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 482-508, March.
    5. Syed Hasan & Odmaa Narantungalag, & Martin Berka, 2022. "The intended and unintended consequences of large electricity subsidies: evidence from Mongolia," Discussion Papers 2202, School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, New Zealand.
    6. Olivier Chanel, 2022. "Impact of COVID‑19 Activity Restrictions on Air Pollution: Methodological Considerations in the Economic Valuation of the Long‑Term Effects on Mortality [Impact sur la pollution de l’air des restri," Working Papers hal-03778336, HAL.
    7. Colmer, Jonathan & Lin, Dajun & Liu, Siying & Shimshack, Jay, 2021. "Why are pollution damages lower in developed countries? Insights from high-Income, high-particulate matter Hong Kong," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Mariano J. Rabassa & Mariana Conte Grand & Christian M. García-Witulski, 2021. "Heat warnings and avoidance behavior: evidence from a bike-sharing system," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(1), pages 1-28, January.
    9. Kong, Dongmin & Liang, Junwei & Liu, Chenhao, 2022. "Invisible enemy: The health impact of ozone," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Komeda, Kenji, 2021. "Environmental Factors and Internal Migration in India," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 20, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.
    11. Charlier, Dorothée & Legendre, Bérangère, 2021. "Fuel poverty in industrialized countries: Definition, measures and policy implications a review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    12. Oleksandr Kubatko & Oleksandra Kubatko, 2019. "Economic estimations of air pollution health nexus," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1507-1517, June.
    13. Jeremy G. Moulton & Nicholas J. Sanders & Scott A. Wentland, 2024. "Toxic Assets: How the Housing Market Responds to Environmental Information Shocks," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 100(1), pages 66-88.
    14. Karen Clay & Margarita Portnykh & Edson Severnini, 2021. "Toxic Truth: Lead and Fertility," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(5), pages 975-1012.
    15. Guidetti, Bruna & Pereda, Paula & Severnini, Edson R., 2020. "Health Shocks under Hospital Capacity Constraint: Evidence from Air Pollution in Sao Paulo, Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 13211, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Julia Mink, 2024. "Putting a Price Tag on Air Pollution: The Social Healthcare Costs of Air Pollution in France," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 320, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    17. Stefan Boes & Stephan Nüesch & Steven Stillman, 2013. "Aircraft Noise, Health, And Residential Sorting: Evidence From Two Quasi‐Experiments," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(9), pages 1037-1051, September.
    18. Clifford Afoakwah & Son Nghiem & Paul Scuffham & Quan Huynh & Tom Marwick & Joshua Byrnes, 2020. "Impacts of air pollution on health: evidence from longitudinal cohort data of patients with cardiovascular diseases," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(7), pages 1025-1038, September.
    19. Bilger, Marcel & Carrieri, Vincenzo, 2013. "Health in the cities: When the neighborhood matters more than income," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-11.
    20. Juwon Chung & Seung-Nam Kim & Hyungkyoo Kim, 2019. "The Impact of PM 10 Levels on Pedestrian Volume: Findings from Streets in Seoul, South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-23, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:12:p:1196-:d:84344. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.