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What are the Environmental Child Health Research Group researching?
We are using large, administrative data to study how the local environment affects children’s health as they are growing up.
We are particularly interested in the impacts of climate change, changing pollution exposures, and indoor environments in homes and schools on children’s health and education outcomes.
Why do we do this research?
Children are much more vulnerable to health-damaging impacts of the environments in and around their homes and schools than adults. Children being exposed to such things as outdoor air pollution, overcrowding, mould in the home, or fast food advertising near schools, as well as a lack of access to greenspace and other infrastructure during childhood, is associated with the development of long-term conditions such as asthma, poor mental health, obesity and worse educational attainment. We need a better understanding of how the local environment influences the health and education of children. Furthermore, the government is introducing a number of measures to improve environments and make housing safer, and research is needed to explore the impact of such environmental policies on children’s health, wellbeing, and school attainment.
What do we do?
We carry out research on how children’s health and education is impacted by the environment in which they live, grow, and learn. To do this, we link together large, administrative data sets routinely collected by the government on a range of factors including health, education, social care, housing, and air pollution to create rich data resources for research. We also use cohort data collected for research purposes. By prioritising population-level datasets on child health and environments where available, we ensure our research is policy-relevant and impactful. We also regularly engage with parents, children and young people to ensure their views are incorporated when deciding on research questions and sharing research findings.
Our research
- The Kids Environment and Health Cohort
We are setting up a new data resource called the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort to allow researchers to study the link between children’s environments and their health and education.
Children are much more vulnerable to health-damaging features of their environment than adults. Many children in England also lack access to services and infrastructure where they live and go to school.
Exposure to things such as outdoor air pollution, overcrowding, mould in the home, fast food advertising near schools, or lack of access to greenspace during childhood is associated with the development of long-term conditions such as asthma, poor mental health, and obesity, and worse educational attainment. We need better data to understand how these home and school environments influence the health and education of children.
The Government is introducing measures to improve environments and make housing safer and we also need data to help us understand whether these environmental policies are improving children’s wellbeing and school results.
Our study website is here: https://kenvh-cohort.org.uk/ and socials are here: On X @kenvhc. On Insta @kids_env_health_cohort.
YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://youtu.be/_LR1mDvN79M 
- Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Driver Programme
Our current and future health is strongly influenced by our social and physical environments. Changes in family structure, work patterns, income, housing, and environmental exposures are linked to persisting health inequalities. Understanding how these factors affect people’s health creates an opportunity for evidence-based interventions.
Our HDRUK Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Research Driver Programme is enhancing the UK’s capabilities to tackle health inequalities by generating powerful, linked data resources to guide policy, public health and services. It will deliver UK-wide interoperable and harmonised, FAIR health data assets comprising administrative and recruited cohorts linked to high resolution, social and environmental data at the level of home and household.
- The PICNIC study
- The PICNIC (air Pollution, housing and respiratory tract Infections in Children: National bIrth Cohort study) is using large health databases linked to environmental and Census data to look at whether children exposed to outdoor air pollution or poor housing conditions (like overcrowding, damp or high levels of indoor air pollution) during pregnancy or early childhood can increase the risk of respiratory tract infections like bronchiolitis, pneumonia and croup.
YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mppt43B7JQg Our picnic study website can be found: www.ucl.ac.uk/child-health/picnic-study.
- The MAGENTA study
The MAGENTA study (Maternal And preGnancy hEalth aNd elevaTed heAt) is addressing multiple gaps in knowledge about the effects of excessive heat on maternal, and child health, especially in unacclimated deprived communities in the UK. The most critical of these will exploring the range of maternity outcomes and impact on later child health. Working with key stakeholders we are developing policy and practice to mitigate the adverse effects of changing temperatures and heat stress on mothers and children.
- Pocket Gardens for Resilient Schools
The Pocket Gardens project is running in 2024/25 and will address the challenges posed by extreme temperatures in urban schools and is being run in 5 phases:
1. Assess Availability of Green Space: Comprehensive assessment conducted of the current availability of green spaces in urban early years providers and schools across Greater London.
2. Evaluate Areas of Intervention: Identification of early years providers and schools that are most at risk of exposure to extreme temperatures.
3. Design and Implementation: Develop and implement a pocket garden, as a proof of concept, in a selected school or early years providers.
4. Resilience Building: Enhance the resilience of school environments to extreme temperatures through strategic green space interventions.
5. Building Partnerships for Future Collaborations: Foster collaborations between Local Authorities, councils, schools, and UCL to create a network of support for future projects.Funded by UCL Grand Challenges.
Our teaching
- Introduction to geo-linking cohort and admin data to social and physical environmental data
This course is aimed at researchers and data analysts with an interest in examining the association between aspects of the physical or social environment and health, economic, education or behavioural outcomes using Centre for Longitudinal Studies’ cohorts or administrative data from the UK.
The course introduces participants to linking small-area level data on the local physical (air quality, greenspace etc) and social (access to services, deprivation) environment to cohort and administrative data. Attendees will learn basic concepts in geo-linkage and be introduced to key local social and environmental datasets. The workshop includes practical sessions to start building geographical information systems (GIS) skills for users of cohort and administrative data.
More information can be found: https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/events/intro-to-geolinking-cohort-data/
- Epidemiology for child health
An introduction to the concepts and methods of epidemiology and data analysis, particularly in relation to child health, helping to consider population child health, papers and how to interpret study findings critically, and to draw inferences from data.
More information can be found: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/child-health/study/postgraduate-taught-programmes/paediatrics-child-health/core-modules/epidemiology-child-health
- Child and adolescent Public Health
A focus on the elements of the Department of Health's 'Healthy Child Programme', the early interventions and prevention public health programme that lies at the heart of universal services for children 0-18 years and their families. This includes the principles and practice of screening programme, health promotion, parenting and parenting support, the policy context relating to school aged children and young people, healthy schools, epidemiology of common causes morbidity and mortality in school aged children and adolescents: and communication skills with children and young people.
More information can be found: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/child-health/study/postgraduate-taught-programmes/paediatrics-child-health/optional-modules/child-public-health
- Immunisation and communicable diseases
A focus on the principles of immunisation and communicable diseases and the setting up and evaluation of immunisation programmes. Concentrating on the UK childhood immunisation programme, this typically includes: the scientific basis of national vaccine policy, immunology of immunisation, how vaccines are made, vaccine trials and safety monitoring, maternal vaccination, factors affecting uptake of vaccines and maximising uptake, discussing immunisation with parents, current issues in vaccine preventable diseases, consent and legal issues, monitoring immunisation programmes. The also includes teaching with examples of communicable disease epidemiology and management.
More information can be found: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/immunisation-and-communicable-diseases-CHLD0059
- Global Child Health
Child health programmes are going through a challenging phase as they try to meet global targets and deal with the need for evidence-based intervention. This teaching provides a background to child health interventions and examines the burden of disease, mechanisms and determinants of key childhood illnesses, evidence for essential interventions and successes and challenges of key programs. It is relevant for child health professionals, programme managers and those with an interest in public health, covering the concepts and global issues in child health and disability.
More information can be found: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/essentials-of-global-child-health-GLBH0009
