Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BEST-COST (Burden of disease based methods for estimating the socio-economic cost of environmental stressors)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2023-01-01 do 2024-06-30
Climate change poses a significant threat to Europe, with environmental stressors like air and noise pollution leading to an estimated 400,000 and 12,000 premature deaths, respectively. To safeguard future generations, European countries must prioritize evidence-based policies to address these issues, yet current policy making struggles with methodological challenges in quantifying socioeconomic costs and the unequal distribution of impacts across communities.
The BEST-COST project aims to develop integrated, consensus-driven methods for assessing the socio-economic impact and disease burden of environmental stressors. The project will produce open-access tools to estimate the burden of disease, socioeconomic costs, and social inequalities, starting with the harmonization of methods for health impact assessment, burden monetization, and inequality measurement. These novel methodologies will be tested in five EU countries and made available via open-access code, with the goal of ensuring their applicability to other environmental stressors and regions.
BEST-COST aims to enhance the ability of policymakers, regulators, and citizens to make informed decisions about environmental and socioeconomic risks, leading to more evidence-based policies at both EU and national levels. In the long term, the project is expected to contribute to reducing the burden of disease and environmental inequalities, and to fostering healthier, more equitable, and sustainable living and working environments.
The BEST-COST project aims to develop integrated, consensus-driven methods for assessing the socio-economic impact and disease burden of environmental stressors. The project will produce open-access tools to estimate the burden of disease, socioeconomic costs, and social inequalities, starting with the harmonization of methods for health impact assessment, burden monetization, and inequality measurement. These novel methodologies will be tested in five EU countries and made available via open-access code, with the goal of ensuring their applicability to other environmental stressors and regions.
BEST-COST aims to enhance the ability of policymakers, regulators, and citizens to make informed decisions about environmental and socioeconomic risks, leading to more evidence-based policies at both EU and national levels. In the long term, the project is expected to contribute to reducing the burden of disease and environmental inequalities, and to fostering healthier, more equitable, and sustainable living and working environments.
During Period 1, the focus was on developing novel methodologies to assess the socioeconomic burden of environmental stressors, with plans to pilot these methods in country case studies in subsequent periods.
Methodologies for Assessing the Burden of Disease (BoD):
- Disease Models: Established models based on global health evaluations, focusing on risk factor-outcome pairs with strong causal evidence, and approved by the consortium.
- Systematic Literature Reviews: Conducted reviews for selected air pollutants (NO2, O3, PM2.5) and noise, deriving exposure-response functions through meta-analysis, and setting up literature data repositories.
- Consensus Methodology: Developed a harmonized methodology for BoD calculations with data extraction, quality control, and recommendations for country case studies.
- Novel Methodologies: Explored methods for assessing the burden of correlated and indoor exposures, with pilot studies and draft reports underway.
- Methodological Protocols: Finalizing consensus statements and protocols, with extensions for further refinement and stakeholder engagement.
Methodologies for Monetizing BoD Estimates and Assessing Population Preferences:
- Cost Assessment and Monetization: Conducted a systematic review and prepared a report on existing methodologies, with ongoing work on expanding reviews and developing future guidelines.
- Surveys on Willingness-to-Pay and Discounting: Designed and piloted surveys to assess population preferences, using cluster analysis to guide country selection for full surveys, with results informing cost monetization tasks.
Methodologies for Quantifying Social Inequalities in Environmental Health Impacts:
- European Deprivation Index: Developed a small-area deprivation index methodology, with consortium consensus and screened data sources for case studies.
- Socio-economic Costs: Developed a GIS-based methodology for visualizing exposure to environmental stressors, with data sources screened and mapped.
- Quantification of Social Inequalities: Compiling data and methodologies into a structured report, with ongoing work to integrate social inequalities into environmental impact assessments.
Methodologies for Assessing the Burden of Disease (BoD):
- Disease Models: Established models based on global health evaluations, focusing on risk factor-outcome pairs with strong causal evidence, and approved by the consortium.
- Systematic Literature Reviews: Conducted reviews for selected air pollutants (NO2, O3, PM2.5) and noise, deriving exposure-response functions through meta-analysis, and setting up literature data repositories.
- Consensus Methodology: Developed a harmonized methodology for BoD calculations with data extraction, quality control, and recommendations for country case studies.
- Novel Methodologies: Explored methods for assessing the burden of correlated and indoor exposures, with pilot studies and draft reports underway.
- Methodological Protocols: Finalizing consensus statements and protocols, with extensions for further refinement and stakeholder engagement.
Methodologies for Monetizing BoD Estimates and Assessing Population Preferences:
- Cost Assessment and Monetization: Conducted a systematic review and prepared a report on existing methodologies, with ongoing work on expanding reviews and developing future guidelines.
- Surveys on Willingness-to-Pay and Discounting: Designed and piloted surveys to assess population preferences, using cluster analysis to guide country selection for full surveys, with results informing cost monetization tasks.
Methodologies for Quantifying Social Inequalities in Environmental Health Impacts:
- European Deprivation Index: Developed a small-area deprivation index methodology, with consortium consensus and screened data sources for case studies.
- Socio-economic Costs: Developed a GIS-based methodology for visualizing exposure to environmental stressors, with data sources screened and mapped.
- Quantification of Social Inequalities: Compiling data and methodologies into a structured report, with ongoing work to integrate social inequalities into environmental impact assessments.
The BEST-COST project has advanced the state of the art in several areas:
- Innovative Disease Models: Developed models for air pollution and noise that focus on risk factor-outcome pairs with strong causal evidence, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of burden of disease (BoD) estimates.
- Exposure-Response Functions: Created global and European exposure-response functions using MR-BRT modeling, a major step in integrating environmental noise into global health studies like the Global Burden of Disease (GBD).
- Methodologies for Correlated Exposures: Explored new methods to assess the combined effects of multiple environmental exposures, addressing a key gap in current health impact assessments.
- Indoor Exposure Assessment: Developed models for assessing indoor exposure to outdoor pollutants, particularly through the adaptation of the HealthVent model, offering new insights into indoor air quality management.
- Monetization of Health Impacts: Expanded systematic reviews and developed new guidelines for cost assessment and discounting, crucial for the economic evaluation of environmental health risks.
- Social Inequality in Health Impacts: Introduced a European deprivation index at a small geographical level and integrated social inequalities into environmental impact assessments, providing innovative tools that could significantly influence policy and practice.
To ensure further uptake and success, the project highlights the need for continued research to refine exposure-response functions and disease models, alongside the development of commercial tools and supportive regulatory frameworks to integrate findings into EU standards. Expanding applicability across different contexts and securing access to markets and finance are also crucial for wider adoption.
- Innovative Disease Models: Developed models for air pollution and noise that focus on risk factor-outcome pairs with strong causal evidence, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of burden of disease (BoD) estimates.
- Exposure-Response Functions: Created global and European exposure-response functions using MR-BRT modeling, a major step in integrating environmental noise into global health studies like the Global Burden of Disease (GBD).
- Methodologies for Correlated Exposures: Explored new methods to assess the combined effects of multiple environmental exposures, addressing a key gap in current health impact assessments.
- Indoor Exposure Assessment: Developed models for assessing indoor exposure to outdoor pollutants, particularly through the adaptation of the HealthVent model, offering new insights into indoor air quality management.
- Monetization of Health Impacts: Expanded systematic reviews and developed new guidelines for cost assessment and discounting, crucial for the economic evaluation of environmental health risks.
- Social Inequality in Health Impacts: Introduced a European deprivation index at a small geographical level and integrated social inequalities into environmental impact assessments, providing innovative tools that could significantly influence policy and practice.
To ensure further uptake and success, the project highlights the need for continued research to refine exposure-response functions and disease models, alongside the development of commercial tools and supportive regulatory frameworks to integrate findings into EU standards. Expanding applicability across different contexts and securing access to markets and finance are also crucial for wider adoption.