Empowering Communities with Knowledge: Introduction to Air Quality

Paul Day speaks to the people involved with the Introduction to Air Quality Course, launched by the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London

Launched in September 2023, the Introduction to Air Quality Course, led by Dr. Diana Varaden from Imperial’s Environmental Research Group (pictured below), aims to equip community leaders with essential knowledge about air quality. The goal is to empower them to disseminate this information effectively and take meaningful action within their communities.

The idea behind the course began to take shape in March of last year, when the Environmental Research Group hosted an air quality-focussed course for the team from Impact on Urban Health, part of the charitable Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation.

Impact on Urban Health fund projects which address health inequalities that particularly affect people living in cities – children’s health and food, multiple long-term conditions, the health effects of air pollution, and children’s mental health.

‘We have a longstanding partnership with them,’ Diana Varaden explains, ‘and thought we could give them a better understanding of air quality: the causes, effects and all the other things that we now have in the course. As funders, it is important for them to be aware of the issues to ensure proper allocation of their investments.’

So, ERG put together a one-day workshop for the core team. ‘They spent the day with us for a compressed course and they thought it was really useful,’ explains Diana. ‘They particularly liked that we allowed enough time for them to ask questions – all of these things that they were not sure about -addressing all the uncertainties they had, in a small group setting, with the researchers present.’

Impact on Urban Health was so impressed that it occurred to them that the course should take on a life of its own, become something they could offer to their partners, people currently currently collaborating with them or potential future partners.

Impact themselves provided funding for eight courses. It was decided to host four courses per  year: two of which would be two-day, in-person event held at Imperia, the other two would be online courses, taking place over two evenings. The online course delivered in June this year represented the halfway mark of the programme.

Priority for the courses is given to people working with Impact on Urban Health but once all those are onboard, the courses are opened up. ‘We have people from NGOs, councillors, GPs, clinicians, all sorts of different careers.’ Diana says, ‘Many of them have limited knowledge about air pollution but are highly interested in the topic. They can use the  information and that knowledge gained from the courses to work within their own communities, addressing air pollution issues  with accurate facts.’

Starting from the basics, the course delves into the research and evidence surrounding air quality, shedding light on its impact and the varying degrees of susceptibility among different groups. Led by experienced academic staff and researchers from the ERG, the course content is tailored to be accessible to a lay audience while providing comprehensive insights into the subject matter.

The in-person event covers the following topics:

Day 1:

• What is air pollution? What are the sources? and how we measure air pollution?
• Evaluating the health impacts of indoor and outdoor pollutants on vulnerable populations within the urban environment
• How are we exposed to air pollution in our daily lives? And how can we communicate air pollution as a health risk?
• Air pollution and construction sites

Day 2:

• Theory and practice of engaging publics in air quality discussions
• London Air Quality Network and Breathe London Network
• Air pollution Action and Policy
• Air pollution and climate change: two sides of the same coin

The online event is shorter, lasting a total of five hours as opposed to ten for the in-person. ‘We wanted to make the course shorter, so people can attend in the evening,’ explains Diana. ‘It’s more targeted at people that definitely can’t take days off. We have some councillors attending in the evening, we have some doctors as well, so we’ve tried to make it as concise as possible. In the session I deliver for the online course, I combine two sessions into one, covering both exposure and community involvement. In the first session for the online course David Green discusses the Breathe London network , so people will still hear about it.’

Even though the courses are free, thanks to the funding from Impact on Urban Health, a bursary is also available because, as Diana explains: ‘we want to ensure that individuals with caring responsibilities  or those who require special transportation arrangements are not excluded. Our goal is to level the playing field for people that want to attend but they need extra financial assistance.

It transpires that attendees of the course are as enthusiastic about it as the original Impact team were. One of the people who attended in March was Jacks Lampon from Coopers Lane Bike Bus. ‘This course has filled me with so much knowledge, from the composition of the air we breathe,’ she says. ‘Who and what is polluting the air, the engineering of the measuring hardware, through to the UK’s medical history and patient trials. I now feel confident to discuss the impacts of air pollution, how it relates to the activities of my group, and empowered to push further for change. This was a very enjoyable two days of intense education which has filled me with confidence to enhance the work I do. What an incredible experience to learn from leading academics on such a powerful course and I highly recommend it to anyone working within the community’

‘Jacks has been doing some fantastic work with the cycling bus and is a very, very committed person,’ says Diana. ‘And on the first course we had a paediatrician who came all the way from Manchester who was absolutely amazed with the course. He was saying that we should really have an educational offering like this for healthcare professionals, because there is nothing like this for them. He felt it would enable them to start these conversations with patients, with the authority that knowledge gives you.’

By way of follow-up, three months after the course, the ERG team ask participants to let them know what actions they have taken as a result of participating in the course. Some of the responses they have had include:

• I have told others and have requested that all Councillors should attend.
• I do a bit of walking and always try to take pathways with least exposure to vehicle pollution and keep away from building work sites.
• Incorporating into my clinical practice. Also, thinking of disseminating this knowledge to others
• I have been actively talking about air pollution with friends, family and neighbours.
• Delivered training to colleagues
• I have used the information in the course to better understand air pollution and communicate it to funders through my job.

Matt Towner, Programme Director of the Health effects of air pollution programme at Impact on Urban Health, said: ‘We’re delighted there is so much interest to learn more about air pollution – the single greatest environmental risk to health. Air pollution devastates people’s health around the world, particularly in urban areas. It is not only a public health crisis, but a social justice issue, one that disproportionately affects the most marginalised communities. But there are ways to improve air quality, and quickly. The popularity of this course is testament to Dr Varaden’s ability as a tutor and we hope that everyone who subscribes leaves with practical tools for improving air quality.’

The next in-person course is scheduled for 17^th and 24^rd September, followed by an online course slated for the beginning of December this year. 

Individuals interested in attending the course will need to complete an Expression of Interest form in the first instance. For further information, contact the Course Administrator Swati Jain swati.jain@imperial.ac.uk

This article originally appeared in the last issue of Air Quality News magazine