Good and equitable environmental health in a sustainable city – Stockholm Environmental Health Program
Urban environments increasingly challenge the individual's ability to maintain good health throughout life. In Sweden, current housing trends, including the lack of affordable homes, tend to escalate disparities in health and reinforce social segregation. The rapid urbanization and densification of Stockholm make it an optimal place to study health effects linked to the urban environment, for example in relation to air quality, transport noise, urban greenness, climate change and overcrowding.
Aims
The overall aims of the current program are to:
- Prevent environmentally related ill-health and promote good and equitable health among the residents of Stockholm County, and to
- Develop and evaluate strategies for building a sustainable city that promotes good and equitable public health among residents of urban areas.
Data and methods
The program uses a variety of data materials and methods.
- To map environmental health risks in Stockholm County, a new GIS-based tool (Environmental Health on the Map), directed at regional stakeholders, will be developed in collaboration with the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm.
- A new cohort (Stockholm Environmental Health Cohort), based on the National Environmental Health Survey 2023 with just over 46,000 respondents from Stockholm County, will form the basis for analyses of the relationship between the environment and health including estimates of the disease burden.
- Furthermore, the effects of crowded housing on children's development, education and health will be investigated in a nationwide cohort study as well as in an intervention study.
- In a literature review, we will summarize the knowledge about various environmental initiatives as a basis and guidance for regional actors when implementing measures.
Implementation
The Stockholm Environmental Health Program runs between 2023 and 2029 and is implemented at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet (KI), in close collaboration with the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (CAMM), Region Stockholm. The program also involves researchers from Lund University, Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, the Transcultural Centre, Region Stockholm, and the Stockholm School of Gymnastics and Sports.
The program is based on six different work packages, each with its own specific goals, activities, and deliverables. The researchers in the program represent several different disciplines, from environmental medicine, public health, and epidemiology to GIS, nursing, and multicultural psychiatry, and will work in close collaboration within the different working groups.
To ensure a good dialogue with the end users of our research, several activities will be arranged during the program, such as seminars, workshops, regional network meetings, and other applied activities.
Relevance
The Equality Commission listed 7 key areas in life that determine inequalities in health. Among these, the intended program focuses on housing and the local environment but is also relevant to aspects of early life conditions, living habits and control, influence and participation. Throughout the program, we will establish a strong research infrastructure with the aim of following up and analysing the impact of the built environment on public health and promoting equitable environmental health. This is in line with several other current initiatives and policy documents in Sweden, such as the Environmental Goals Council's initiative "Health as a driver for environmental goals and sustainable development".
Funding
The project is funded by Forte, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, within the framework of the call Preventive and health-promoting interventions within the target areas of the public health policy 2023.
Contact person
The project leader for the program is Charlotta Eriksson, epidemiologist at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, as well as Senior Researcher and Docent at the Institute for Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.