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Volume 19
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10.3390/ijerph19127097
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Article

Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour by Applying a Difference-in-Differences Method to Syndromic Surveillance Data

by
Roger Morbey
1,*,
Gillian Smith
1,
Karen Exley
2,
André Charlett
3,
Daniela de Angelis
3,
Sally Harcourt
1,
Felipe Gonzalez
4,
Iain Lake
4,
Alec Dobney
2 and
Alex Elliot
1
1
Real-Time Syndromic Surveillance Team, Field Service, UK Health Security Agency, Birmingham B2 4BH, UK
2
Chemicals and Toxicology Science, UK Health Security Agency, London SE1 8UG, UK
3
Statistics, Modelling and Economics, Analytics and Data Science, UK Health Security Agency, London NW9 5EQ, UK
4
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7097; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127097
Submission received: 8 April 2022 / Revised: 6 June 2022 / Accepted: 7 June 2022 / Published: 9 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Public Health Statistics and Risk Assessment)
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Abstract

Syndromic surveillance data were used to estimate the direct impact of air pollution on healthcare-seeking behaviour, between 1 April 2012 and 31 December 2017. A difference-in-differences approach was used to control for spatial and temporal variations that were not due to air pollution and a meta-analysis was conducted to combine estimates from different pollution periods. Significant increases were found in general practitioner (GP) out-of-hours consultations, including a 98% increase (2–386, 95% confidence interval) in acute bronchitis and a 16% (3–30) increase in National Health Service (NHS) 111 calls for eye problems. However, the numbers involved are small; for instance, roughly one extra acute bronchitis consultation in a local authority on a day when air quality is poor. These results provide additional information for healthcare planners on the impacts of localised poor air quality. However, further work is required to identify the separate impact of different pollutants.
Keywords: public health; epidemiology; health burden; air pollution; syndromic surveillance public health; epidemiology; health burden; air pollution; syndromic surveillance

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MDPI and ACS Style

Morbey, R.; Smith, G.; Exley, K.; Charlett, A.; de Angelis, D.; Harcourt, S.; Gonzalez, F.; Lake, I.; Dobney, A.; Elliot, A. Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour by Applying a Difference-in-Differences Method to Syndromic Surveillance Data. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 7097. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127097

AMA Style

Morbey R, Smith G, Exley K, Charlett A, de Angelis D, Harcourt S, Gonzalez F, Lake I, Dobney A, Elliot A. Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour by Applying a Difference-in-Differences Method to Syndromic Surveillance Data. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(12):7097. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127097

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morbey, Roger, Gillian Smith, Karen Exley, André Charlett, Daniela de Angelis, Sally Harcourt, Felipe Gonzalez, Iain Lake, Alec Dobney, and Alex Elliot. 2022. "Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour by Applying a Difference-in-Differences Method to Syndromic Surveillance Data" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 12: 7097. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127097

APA Style

Morbey, R., Smith, G., Exley, K., Charlett, A., de Angelis, D., Harcourt, S., Gonzalez, F., Lake, I., Dobney, A., & Elliot, A. (2022). Estimating the Impact of Air Pollution on Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour by Applying a Difference-in-Differences Method to Syndromic Surveillance Data. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7097. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127097

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