AI-enabled targeting of public health interventions through dynamic characterisation of the environment
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: MRC Epidemiology Unit
Abstract
The health benefits of diet and physical activity are well established. However, the environment influences these behaviours and hence health risk. Previous research has examined the role of the environment using people's addresses but this misses where people go, when they go, and what they do. This means that the interplay between environmental exposures and personal behaviours is missed.
We address this gap using existing timestamped measures of physical activity, location and diet from a large population-based cohort of over 10,000 adults in England. Using AI methods including autonomous agents acting on a knowledge graph, we will combine location and geospatial data to quantify personal dynamic environmental exposures to support epidemiological analysis of the cohort.
Results will be relevant to local authorities, including more detailed understanding of how people use space and the duration and timing of health-related exposures. Long term, this research could facilitate real-time nudges of health behaviours using smartphones.
We address this gap using existing timestamped measures of physical activity, location and diet from a large population-based cohort of over 10,000 adults in England. Using AI methods including autonomous agents acting on a knowledge graph, we will combine location and geospatial data to quantify personal dynamic environmental exposures to support epidemiological analysis of the cohort.
Results will be relevant to local authorities, including more detailed understanding of how people use space and the duration and timing of health-related exposures. Long term, this research could facilitate real-time nudges of health behaviours using smartphones.
Publications
Phua S
(2024)
Urban Vulnerability Assessment of Sea Level Rise in Singapore through the World Avatar
in Applied Sciences
Tsai Y
(2025)
Municipal heat planning within The World Avatar
| Title | Instructional videos for remote assessment of environmental exposure, physical activity, and fitness |
| Description | Video guides for how to perform smartphone app measures of location and activity and how to use webtool for annotation of activity traces |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | About to deploy in the Fenland Study for feasibility testing |
| Description | - identified environmental data sources of relevance to the project - designed the secure computing infrastructure for processing of identifiable GPS data to derive environmental exposure variables - redesigned how we link environmental exposure data to health outcomes to improve anonymity of the analysis results - Derived environmental exposures of greenspace, sports facilities, fastfood outlets and supermarkets - Analyses of environmental determinants of physical activity behaviour (writing up stage) |
| Exploitation Route | Too early to say but we hope it will be useful for local policy makers in planning decision making. We now have a rudimentary app/webserver/data processing setup that could be used as survey tool by local councils to understand how people use the local space and what their activity behaviours are. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Environment Healthcare Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Transport |
| Title | LAVA webtool - Location Activity Visualisation and Annotation |
| Description | Webtool with multi-factor authentication allowing study participants to view and annotate their own location and activity data |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | We are about to deploy the tool in the Fenland Study for feasibility testing |
| Description | Collaboration NYU Abu Dhabi - Healthy Futures Study |
| Organisation | New York University Abu Dhabi |
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Study design and ideas for analyses/papers |
| Collaborator Contribution | Study design, data collection, data management, data analyses, papers |
| Impact | Specific analysis plans for papers |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Department of Architecture, Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Architecture |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Population health perspective of indoor environmental exposures |
| Collaborator Contribution | Building level perspective of indoor environmental exposures |
| Impact | Discussion re assessment of indoor environmental exposure - cross-disciplinary (epidemiology/architecture) |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration on projects in the UK and Singapore on bringing together diverse data sources for characterising the environment and studying the interplay between these factors, behaviours, and health |
| Collaborator Contribution | UKRI-funded AI-enabled public health interventions project. HD4 application for Singapore |
| Impact | Secure Research Computing Platform infrastructure to enable processing of person identifiable data |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Title | Secure Webserver for receiving streamed data as JSON from smartphone app |
| Description | Webserver performs security handshake and stores/indexes transmitted JSON files of location data, heart rate data, and steps data in database behind firewall |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | About to deploy the tool in the Fenland Study for feasibility testing |
| Title | Smartphone app (module) for assessing 7-day location tracking and sharing of activity data stored on phone |
| Description | Module "My Environment" in BreathNow app |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | Changed how we design studies on people regarding exposure assessment |
| Description | BreathNow podcast - 10 min/day exercise can lower CVD & cancer risk (SB) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Recorded podcast '10 min/day exercise can lower CVD & cancer risk' for BreathNow channel. 626 views by 21/01/2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/zXtv-n7Zs8s?si=QoSZ5qqg5DlNJez_ |
| Description | Cambridge Country Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion related to council's priorities for health improvement, how decisions on resource allocation is made, what data sources are available on factors influencing population health |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | CardioCalm Ltd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Ongoing discussion with smartphone app developer, CardioCalm, about improvements to app capturing data related to physical activity, fitness, and location tracking. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blood-pressure-app-breathnow/id1551799152 |
| Description | Unit Blog Post - Reimagining our urban futures: Health-Driven Design for Cities research programme launches in Singapore |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Unit Blog Post "Reimagining our urban futures: Health-Driven Design for Cities research programme launches in Singapore" and YouTube video https://youtu.be/f_4QX6g8mMQ?si=cCI8CKHP130sgJjl accompanying CARES Press Release https://www.cares.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/HD4-Kick-off-announcement-final.pdf for launch of the Singapore-based HD4 collaboration. Video posted on Unit Bluesky, LinkedIn, Instagram (as reel), Facebook and X. Youtube video got 78 views by 20/12/24, and Unit blog post 45 unique views. LinkedIn video was shared 4 times, had 35 reactions and 667 views. CARES press release was picked up by PR newswire and published by >130 outlets in South-East Asia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/12/12/reimagining-our-urban-futures-health-driven-design-fo... |