LWEC Health Fellowship
Lead Research Organisation:
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Department Name: Public Health and Policy
Abstract
I believe I can deliver the LWEC Health Knowledge Placement Fellowship for the following reasons:
I am an international expert on the research topic of climate change impacts and adaptation for health, and extreme weather events and health. These are quite complex topics that cover multiple outcomes, multiple hazards, multiple research methods, and have implications for a wide range of decision makers for policies, strategies and measures at different spatial and temporal scales. I have worked on scientific research on the climate, weather, and climate change effects on health for 16 years at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I have conducted epidemiological studies on heat waves (our research was used in the DoH's Heatwave Plan for England), and coordinated the first systematic review of the health effects of floods, as well as contributed to epidemiological studies of the mortality effects of floods in the UK (part of an HPA-EA-LSHTM collaborative project). I have developed frameworks for the assessment of future climate change impacts on human health (I am coordinating a global health impact assessment of climate change impacts on human health for WHO Geneva).
I have great experience and enthusiasm for inter-displinary research on environmental change and human health. My inter-disciplinary research experience includes several projects funded by NERC (e.g. QUEST GSI project) and I have participated in NERC funded workshops (Climate change and exposure to chemicals from agriculture). I am currently working on the health component of ISI MIP project (InterSectoral Impacts Model Inter-comparison Project) of which NERC is a funding partner. I have also provided expert advice to the World Meteorological Organization.
I have been interested in the policy dimensions of this research for a long time. I have been concerned that much climate and health research does not have clear policy implications beyond advocacy for mitigation. However, research is now moving towards more policy relevant areas and this is very exciting time for global change research. I have a strong personal interest in developing methods for evidence synthesis. One of my key research interests is developing criteria for the evaluation of epidemiological evidence for climate and health; this demands critical thinking and an assessment of the wide range of current tools available for risk assessment.
Finally, due to my extensive experience, I have excellent networks within the environmental change and health research communities, as well as links with decision makers at local, national and international levels.
One of the characteristics of Public Health is breadth. I understand a broad range of health issues and I am able to see their relationships in a wider context. In particular, I have a deep understanding of a range of environment and health issues in the context of UK policy. I see this Fellowship as a great opportunity to contribute my skills, technical expertise and enthusiasm. It is a great challenge that would enable me to develop my experience in an important and complex multi-disciplinary environment.
I am an international expert on the research topic of climate change impacts and adaptation for health, and extreme weather events and health. These are quite complex topics that cover multiple outcomes, multiple hazards, multiple research methods, and have implications for a wide range of decision makers for policies, strategies and measures at different spatial and temporal scales. I have worked on scientific research on the climate, weather, and climate change effects on health for 16 years at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I have conducted epidemiological studies on heat waves (our research was used in the DoH's Heatwave Plan for England), and coordinated the first systematic review of the health effects of floods, as well as contributed to epidemiological studies of the mortality effects of floods in the UK (part of an HPA-EA-LSHTM collaborative project). I have developed frameworks for the assessment of future climate change impacts on human health (I am coordinating a global health impact assessment of climate change impacts on human health for WHO Geneva).
I have great experience and enthusiasm for inter-displinary research on environmental change and human health. My inter-disciplinary research experience includes several projects funded by NERC (e.g. QUEST GSI project) and I have participated in NERC funded workshops (Climate change and exposure to chemicals from agriculture). I am currently working on the health component of ISI MIP project (InterSectoral Impacts Model Inter-comparison Project) of which NERC is a funding partner. I have also provided expert advice to the World Meteorological Organization.
I have been interested in the policy dimensions of this research for a long time. I have been concerned that much climate and health research does not have clear policy implications beyond advocacy for mitigation. However, research is now moving towards more policy relevant areas and this is very exciting time for global change research. I have a strong personal interest in developing methods for evidence synthesis. One of my key research interests is developing criteria for the evaluation of epidemiological evidence for climate and health; this demands critical thinking and an assessment of the wide range of current tools available for risk assessment.
Finally, due to my extensive experience, I have excellent networks within the environmental change and health research communities, as well as links with decision makers at local, national and international levels.
One of the characteristics of Public Health is breadth. I understand a broad range of health issues and I am able to see their relationships in a wider context. In particular, I have a deep understanding of a range of environment and health issues in the context of UK policy. I see this Fellowship as a great opportunity to contribute my skills, technical expertise and enthusiasm. It is a great challenge that would enable me to develop my experience in an important and complex multi-disciplinary environment.
Publications
Fowler T
(2015)
Excess winter deaths in Europe: a multi-country descriptive analysis.
in European journal of public health
Kovats RS
(2017)
UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Evidence Report:
Lo Iacono G
(2017)
Challenges in developing methods for quantifying the effects of weather and climate on water-associated diseases: A systematic review.
in PLoS neglected tropical diseases
LWEC
(2015)
Health Climate Change Impacts
Munro A
(2017)
Effect of evacuation and displacement on the association between flooding and mental health outcomes: a cross-sectional analysis of UK survey data.
in The Lancet. Planetary health
Negev M
(2016)
Climate change adaptation in the reorganized UK public health system: a view from local government.
in Public health
Watts N
(2017)
The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change.
in Lancet (London, England)
| Description | The LWEC Health Report Card summarises the effect of climate change on people - the effects on health (physical and mental illness and disease) and the resilience of our health services. Some effects on health will be through changes in the frequency of extreme weather events - floods and heat waves. The report card is intended to help people understand the scale of possible change and to help inform decisions that will protect our health. Climate change is likely to have a wide range of impacts on health: while some may be beneficial, others will be harmful. |
| Exploitation Route | Improved understanding of the health impacts of climate change. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| URL | http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/partnerships/lwec/products/report-cards/health/ |
| Description | The LWEC Fellowship was to support knowledge exchange in area of environmental change and human health. An evidence review was undertaken to determine what research was being funded. For example, there was little research funded by LWEC partners that meets the evidence needs for the National Adaptation Programme in relation to public health. The LWEC Report Card on Health and Climate Change [Kovats, ed, 2015] was an accessible summary of the latest research on the implications of climate change for uman health in the UK. It was published to inform health professionals in the UK about climate change. The LWEC Fellowship contributed to my appointment as the co-lead for the evidence report for the UK's Second Climate Change Risk Assessment. This evidence report inputs directly to the preparation of the NAP - National Adaptation Programme. The National Adaptation Programme is the Government's strategy to address the main risks and opportunities from climate change identified in the risk assessment for England, and is also produced every five years. The first National Adaptation Programme was published in July 2017.The devolved administrations also have their own adaptation programmes. The ASC has evaluated progress in Wales and Scotland. Kovats, R.S., and Osborn, D., (2017) UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Evidence Report: Chapter 5, People and the Built Environment. Contributing authors: Humphrey, K., Thompson, D., Johns. D., Ayres, J., Bates, P., Baylis, M., Bell, S., Church, A., Curtis, S., Davies, M., Depledge, M., Houston, D., Vardoulakis, S., Reynard, N., Watson, J., Mavrogianni, A., Shrubsole, C., Taylor, J., and Whitman, G. Report prepared for the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change, London. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | CCRA3 Evidence Report |
| Amount | £26,294 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Committee on Climate Change (CCC) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2018 |
| End | 11/2020 |
| Description | LWEC Health Fellowship |
| Amount | £114,859 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/K006835/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2013 |
| End | 03/2015 |
| Description | NIHR Health Protection Research Unit |
| Amount | £3,942,599 (GBP) |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2014 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | Public Health England Annual Conference 2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on the work of LWEC and findings relating to evidence needs for the National Adaptation Plan |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |