BiB Breathes

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Evaluating the life-course health impact of a city-wide system approach to improve air quality in Bradford, UK: A quasi-experimental study with implementation and process evaluation

• IRAS ID

  281405

• Contact name

  Rukhsana Rashid

• Sponsor organisation

  Bradford Institute for Health Research

• Duration of Study in the UK

  4 years, 11 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Poor air quality is a major cause of early death and illness. Children and the elderly are particularly affected by pollution. Poorer areas of the country have the worse air quality and as a result, worse health. Bradford will introduce a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in 2021 in order to reduce pollution using policies such as charging people for driving polluting vehicles in certain areas. However, there is little evidence whether these policies improve air quality and health, particularly for those living in deprived neighbourhoods.

  We will evaluate the impact of a Clean Air Zone on air quality, health and health disadvantages in the city of Bradford. There are four work-packages (WP). WP1 will include group discussions with the general public and interviews with stakeholders (such as taxi drivers and businesses) to explore acceptability of the CAZ and factors which helped or hindered success (WP1A), and a survey with about 4000 families enrolled in the Born in Bradford study to explore whether it has affected how people travel (WP1B). In WP2 we will explore changes in air quality across the city, and around 12 schools using regularly collected air pollution data. In addition, 240 children in these schools will help us collect data by using mobile air sensors that will measure air quality on when they travel to and from school for three separate months before the CAZ is implemented and again a year later. In WP3 The impact on lung, heart health and birth weight will be measured by comparing the health of over 500,000 Bradford residents in the three years before and three years after the CAZ started. Research will examine whether the impact is different for people from more deprived areas or different ethnic groups. In WP4 we will explore if the CAZ is value for money.

• REC name

  Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  20/YH/0158

• Date of REC Opinion

  30 Jun 2020

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion