Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BlueHealth (Linking Up Environment, Health and Climate for Inter-sector Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in a Rapidly Changing Environment)

Teaser

Most Europeans live in cities built on waterways, lakes, or coasts. The BlueHealth project assesses how such blue spaces—and the blue infrastructures in, on and near them—affect human health and wellbeing. Very little research has been done on this issue, even though blue...

Summary

Most Europeans live in cities built on waterways, lakes, or coasts. The BlueHealth project assesses how such blue spaces—and the blue infrastructures in, on and near them—affect human health and wellbeing. Very little research has been done on this issue, even though blue infrastructure may offer significant public health benefits (e.g. promotion of physical activity, stress reduction, urban cooling).
BlueHealth aims to understand the relationships between blue spaces and human health; to map the public health impacts of changes to blue spaces in Europe; and to provide evidence-based information to policy-makers and land/water-use planners to maximise health and wellbeing benefits of blue space interventions.
The BlueHealth Conceptual Model was developed based on what is known about how changes to natural environments impact on health and wellbeing. Changes made to infrastructure may impact on the amount, quality, character and distribution of blue space available to the public. This may change people’s contact with blue spaces, and the nature of activities they do in them; which in turn influences health and, ultimately, quality of life.
Six key questions are addressed by BlueHealth:
(a) How are health and wellbeing benefits of urban blue infrastructure distributed across Europe?
(b) How can the distribution of benefits from blue spaces be made most equitable?
(c) Can benefits of blue spaces be obtained through VR technologies?
(d) Can the benefits of blue infrastructure be incorporated into good design and urban planning?
(e) How might different possible environmental futures influence urban blue infrastructures to deliver these benefits?
(f) Can these benefits to health and wellbeing be factored into the maintenance and development of urban blue infrastructures?

Work performed

Considerable progress towards meeting the project aims has been made in the reporting period in all eight work packages (WPs).
WP1 (Managing BlueHealth) coordinates the project, including technical and financial reporting. At the third annual meeting in Pühajärve, Estonia (Fig 1), a mid-project meeting was held which ensured that BlueHealth research is on track. Two amendments to the Grant Agreement have been successfully coordinated to ensure optimum use of project resources.
WP2 (Pan-European Evidence for BlueHealth) has continued its investigation of how blue spaces are related to health and wellbeing through systematic reviews, analysis of secondary data, and the BlueHealth International Survey. This Survey has collected data on people’s experiences in blue spaces and health and wellbeing status in 18 countries worldwide. Data analysis has commenced (Fig 2). Extensive work has also been done on exposure assessment.
WP3 (Community-Level Interventions (CLIs)) is evaluating impacts of interventions in the physical environment and behaviours on benefits and risks associated with use of blue space. Interventions have been completed (e.g. Fig 3) with bespoke tools created to evaluate aspects of blue spaces and their use before and after their implementation. Extensive interaction with stakeholders have shaped this work (Fig 4).
WP4 (Health and Social Care Interventions) designs virtual reality (VR) blue environments and tests these in settings where participants have restricted access. Both computer generated imagery (CGI) (Fig 5) and 360° film (Fig 9) VR experiences have been co-created with stakeholders and tested in the laboratory.
WP5 (Planning and Design for BlueHealth) uses planning and design expertise to assess built projects and to test planning and design of access to blue spaces. ‘Urban acupuncture’ projects (small landscape interventions with a large effect) have been designed in several European cities with local stakeholders; and bespoke tools assessed their impact on local populations (Fig 6).
WP6 (BlueHealth Futures) informs planning and identifies the best blue infrastructure intervention strategies over the medium to long term using future scenarios. Scenarios have now been generated for one EU city (Plymouth, UK) based on plausible future societal trends. Similar work is ongoing on five other EU cities. Various stakeholder workshops have been held to shape the scenarios (Fig 7).
WP7 (Translating Evidence for Decision-making) is focused on creating existing BlueHealth decision support tool (DST) that provides information on the benefits and risks of building or maintaining blue infrastructure to decision makers.. A working beta version of the DST has been designed and developed (Fig 8) for further testing by BlueHealth researchers and stakeholders.
WP8 (BlueHealth Innovation and Dissemination) helps to disseminate the activities and innovations of BlueHealth stakeholders including the private sector. The project website has been very actively developed. High usage globally (Fig 10) has been ensured by effective integration with social media (Fig 11). Ongoing blogs (Fig 12) and varied in-person dissemination activities (Fig 13) continue to raise BlueHealth’s profile both locally and internationally.

Final results

BlueHealth provides new evidence based on rigorous research to those making decisions on the development and maintenance of Europe’s blue spaces. Decision-makers will be enabled to consider how the health and wellbeing benefits of their policies and projects can be maximised. BlueHealth is producing tools and guidelines, tested with appropriate stakeholders and available for use in design, planning, and evaluation of interventions and governance processes.
BlueHealth recognises the value of disease prevention and health promotion as a means to secure improved long-term public health in Europe. Capturing co-benefits associated with urban blue infrastructure planning will result in savings to healthcare systems and other frontline services. Increased recognition of the value of blue spaces will support their preservation and management, leading to even more benefits to both health and the environment.
The international nature of the project makes this relevant across the EU and beyond. Conducting research at a wide range of levels (community, city, state) ensures applicability of project findings to many contexts. Blue infrastructures are often designed for other policy goals (e.g. transport, flood prevention); innovative design and planning can promote health and well-being by ensuring that co-benefits are captured.
Decision-making related to blue space invariably requires cross-sectoral interaction; many sectors are represented in the stakeholder groups engaged in BlueHealth (citizens, decision-makers at national and EU levels). This fosters immediate and lasting uptake of project outputs; and allows dissemination of results to those effecting—and impacted by—change in Europe’s blue spaces.

Website & more info

More info: https://bluehealth2020.eu/.