Impact of local air quality management policies on emergency hospitalisations for respiratory conditions in the North West Coast region of England: a longitudinal controlled ecological study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Air quality is monitored at a local level in the UK as part of the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) system. If air quality objectives within an area are not achieved an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) is declared and action plan developed. The efficacy of this system in reducing air pollution has increasingly come into question, however very little is known about its impact on health or health inequalities. We therefore investigated the effect of declaring an AQMA on emergency hospitalisations for respiratory conditions in the North West Coast region of England, and examined whether the effect differed between more compared to less deprived neighbourhoods.

Methods

This longitudinal controlled ecological study analysed neighbourhoods located within or touchin

SUBMITTER: Rose TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8670133 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature