cc: "Paul Wilkinson" , date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 17:21:43 +0100 from: "Sari Kovats" subject: ADAM to: Hello Mike I hope you had a nice holiday. We hope that there is still some potential for LSHTM participation within the ADAM project, in order to facilitate this Paul and I have had some further discussions and would like to clearly present our research interest and potential contribution. We have not seen a copy of the current outline or description of work and so cannot relate our discussion more specifically to the ADAM project. However, our interests relate to 3 types of research: 1) Specific epidemiological analyses, including data gathering and hypothesis testing on weather/climate exposures and health outcomes. 2) Methods for including health outcomes or health determinants in burden calculations, and hence support for decision-making processes. 3) Case studies of the health benefits of specific policies, measures or strategies in relation to adaptation or mitigation (e.g. warning systems, clean technology). These methods can be employed in relation to three topic areas that address the call for research to support climate change related policy making by the EU. Topic 1. Adaptation policies for public health in Europe Research objective - develop policy-relevant information for adaptation options in Europe as they relate to the potential health impacts of climate change, including improved estimation of costs and benefits of specific adaptation strategies, policies and measures Suggested case studies focussed on extreme events - Housing, urban environment and heat exposures - Riverine floods - Early warning systems for vector borne diseases - Food borne disease LSHTM expertise: - Heat wave impacts in Europe evaluation of housing, heat wave warning systems, and urban heat islands (cCASHh F5 project) - Winter mortality in England and Wales (PW, BA, SK) - Review of literature on health impacts of floods in Europe - Vector-borne diseases [links to FP6 project EDEN, LSHTM partner- CD] - Review of epidemic early warning systems for WHO (KK, DCL) Topic 2. Climate change and EU development policy Climate change cuts across the development agenda, it is important that responses are conceived within and are in coherence with existing development frameworks, rather than in isolation from them. Interest in environment and public health issues is limited in many low income countries. Research questions.. - Improved assessment of the potential health impacts of climate change in developing countries, including analysis of current burden of climate variability. - Assessment of climate change impacts on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. LSHTM expertise: * DFID Water Knowledge Programme [Cairncross] * DFID Malaria Programme [Bradley] * Global impact models from WHO global burden of disease assessment (DCL, SK, PW). * Highland malaria in East Africa Topic 3. Evaluation of strategies for mitigation-stabilization including the quantitative assessment of ancillary benefits and health impacts of clean energy Research objectives: to quantify and describe the health impacts and benefits for a range of policies that affect greenhouse gas emissions, with respect to - Outdoor air pollution [would require collaboration with Rachel Warren and/or improved air pollution/atmospheric modelling] - Transport - Energy generation LSHTM expertise: * Energy background document for Budapest Conference for WHO Rome (PW, MA, AH). * Outdoor air pollution health impact assessment, COMEAP [UK Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants] (BA, PW) · Evaluation of "ecotax" on air pollution-related effects in Germany (PW) - Energy efficiency and housing health impact assessment (Warm front project- PW). We look forward to hearing from you. Paul is around next week to discuss things on the phone. Best wishes Sari ******************* Sari Kovats Lecturer Public and Environmental Health Research Unit (PEHRU) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Keppel St, London WC1E 7HT tel: +44 20 7927 2962 fax: +44 20 7580 4524 [1]sari.kovats@lshtm.ac.uk