IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i8p1786-d164665.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Importance of Using Public Health Impact Criteria to Develop Environmental Health Indicators: The Example of the Indoor Environment in New Zealand

Author

Listed:
  • Kylie Mason

    (Environmental Health Indicators Programme, Massey University, Wellington Campus, P.O. Box 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand)

  • Kirstin Lindberg

    (Environmental Health Indicators Programme, Massey University, Wellington Campus, P.O. Box 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand)

  • Deborah Read

    (Environmental Health Indicators Programme, Massey University, Wellington Campus, P.O. Box 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand)

  • Barry Borman

    (Environmental Health Indicators Programme, Massey University, Wellington Campus, P.O. Box 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand)

Abstract

Developing environmental health indicators is challenging and applying a conceptual framework and indicator selection criteria may not be sufficient to prioritise potential indicators to monitor. This study developed a new approach for prioritising potential environmental health indicators, using the example of the indoor environment for New Zealand. A three-stage process of scoping, selection, and design was implemented. A set of potential indicators (including 4 exposure indicators and 20 health indicators) were initially identified and evaluated against indicator selection criteria. The health indicators were then further prioritised according to their public health impact and assessed by the five following sub-criteria: number of people affected (based on environmental burden of disease statistics); severity of health impact; whether vulnerable populations were affected and/or large inequalities were apparent; whether the indicator related to multiple environmental exposures; and policy relevance. Eight core indicators were ultimately selected, as follows: living in crowded households, second-hand smoke exposure, maternal smoking at two weeks post-natal, asthma prevalence, asthma hospitalisations, lower respiratory tract infection hospitalisations, meningococcal disease notifications, and sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI). Additionally, indicators on living in damp and mouldy housing and children’s injuries in the home, were identified as potential indicators, along with attributable burden indicators. Using public health impact criteria and an environmental burden of disease approach was valuable in prioritising and selecting the most important health impacts to monitor, using robust evidence and objective criteria.

Suggested Citation

  • Kylie Mason & Kirstin Lindberg & Deborah Read & Barry Borman, 2018. "The Importance of Using Public Health Impact Criteria to Develop Environmental Health Indicators: The Example of the Indoor Environment in New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1786-:d:164665
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1786/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1786/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tammy Hambling & Philip Weinstein & David Slaney, 2011. "A Review of Frameworks for Developing Environmental Health Indicators for Climate Change and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Chien-Chang Lee & Nicole A Middaugh & Stephen R C Howie & Majid Ezzati, 2010. "Association of Secondhand Smoke Exposure with Pediatric Invasive Bacterial Disease and Bacterial Carriage: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(12), pages 1-14, December.
    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. Kylie Mason & Kirstin Lindberg & Carolin Haenfling & Allan Schori & Helene Marsters & Deborah Read & Barry Borman, 2021. "Social Vulnerability Indicators for Flooding in Aotearoa New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-31, April.
    2. Marta Salgado & Ana C. L. Vieira & Anália Torres & Mónica D. Oliveira, 2020. "Selecting Indicators to Monitor and Assess Environmental Health in a Portuguese Urban Setting: A Participatory Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Johnny C. Lorentzen & Gunnar Johanson & Folke Björk & Sofia Stensson, 2022. "Overcrowding and Hazardous Dwelling Condition Characteristics: A Systematic Search and Scoping Review of Relevance for Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Isotta Mac Fadden & Roberta Cocchioni & María Mar Delgado-Serrano, 2024. "A Co-Created Assessment Framework to Measure Inclusive Health and Wellbeing in a Vulnerable Context in the South of Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-24, April.

    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. Jonathan E. Suk & Kristie L. Ebi & David Vose & Willy Wint & Neil Alexander & Koen Mintiens & Jan C. Semenza, 2014. "Indicators for Tracking European Vulnerabilities to the Risks of Infectious Disease Transmission due to Climate Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Steven Lam & Alanna Leffley & Donald C. Cole, 2014. "Applying an Ecohealth Perspective in a State of the Environment Report: Experiences of a Local Public Health Unit in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Seulkee Heo & Jong-Tae Lee, 2013. "Study of Environmental Health Problems in Korea Using Integrated Environmental Health Indicators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Johannes Flacke & Steffen Andreas Schüle & Heike Köckler & Gabriele Bolte, 2016. "Mapping Environmental Inequalities Relevant for Health for Informing Urban Planning Interventions—A Case Study in the City of Dortmund, Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.
    5. Shiyi Cao & Chen Yang & Yong Gan & Zuxun Lu, 2015. "The Health Effects of Passive Smoking: An Overview of Systematic Reviews Based on Observational Epidemiological Evidence," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-12, October.
    6. Claire Brereton & Amelia Turagabeci & Donald Wilson & Peter D. Sly & Paul Jagals, 2018. "Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Pacific Island Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, July.
    7. Benjamin Edokpolo & Nathalie Allaz-Barnett & Catherine Irwin & Jason Issa & Pete Curtis & Bronwyn Green & Ivan Hanigan & Martine Dennekamp, 2019. "Developing a Conceptual Framework for Environmental Health Tracking in Victoria, Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-10, May.
    8. Irene Monsonís-Payá & Tomás Gómez-Navarro & Mónica García-Melón, 2020. "Anticipating Environmental Burdens in Research and Innovation Projects—Application to the Case of Active and Healthy Ageing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-20, May.
    9. Vanessa Manni & Diego De Merich & Giuseppe Campo, 2023. "Management Approaches to Health and Safety at Work during Prevention Intervention Planning," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(24), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Rehana Shrestha & Johannes Flacke & Javier Martinez & Martin Van Maarseveen, 2018. "Interactive Cumulative Burden Assessment: Engaging Stakeholders in an Adaptive, Participatory and Transdisciplinary Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-23, February.
    11. Alejandro Cerón, 2023. "Environmental and Social Factors Associated with High Chronic Kidney Disease Mortality Rates in Municipalities of Guatemala: An Ecological Study of Municipal-Level Mortality Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-13, April.

    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:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1786-:d:164665. 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.