Introduction to the AQ-WATCH Project and the AQ-WATCH Toolkit to fight air pollution

Abstract Background WHO states that 9 out of 10 persons in the world do not breath clean air and 8 million people die prematurely from air pollution each year. The problem is well understood, but actions to mitigate it are lacking. The purpose of the EU-funded AQ-WATCH Project is precisely to develop effective tools based on the most advanced science technologies to help decision-makers in government and the private sector to address air pollution issues in regions of the world where they operate. Objectives AQ-WATCH aims to develops a supply chain to generate innovative downstream products for improving air quality forecasts and attribution based on existing space/in-situ observations to improve public health and to optimize renewable energy in regions of the world. The project consortium includes research and business-oriented partners, who brings together the required expertise to define the optimal functionalities of these products to bring them to the market. Results The AQ-WATCH products are organized into 5 modules: (1) Air quality atlas, (2) Air quality attribution & mitigation, (3) Dust and fire forecast, (4) Fracking analysis, and (5) Air quality forecast. They are developed for 3 target regions (Beijing, Colorado and Santiago de Chile) and are integrated into a unified user-interface, the AQ-WATCH Toolkit. Product developers and prime users in the target regions are constantly interacting, and the user feedback is collected, analyzed and included during the product development. Conclusions Collaborative work done in AQ-WATCH shows strategic interaction between our research and business-oriented partners. Contributions from local parties are proven to be valuable for regional adaption of the products. A throughout dissemination including regional workshops is essential to ensure proper knowledge uptake by the target audience. Constant exchange with the private sector is required for a smooth transfer from scientific results to commercialized marketable products. Key messages • The AQ-WATCH Project follows EU’s initiative to utilize its space observations with added values to develop easily-accessible tools to fight air pollution applicable to regions of the world. • The AQ-WATCH Toolkit is developed with iterative feedback exchanges between product developers and local users to address air pollution issues, and will be eventually exploited to the market.


Background:
Urban health has become an increasingly important aspect of Public Health curriculum for residents as people living in urban areas will substantially rise in the next 30 years so will their impact on health. Residents are both contributors and partners in creating sustainable solutions for their growing cities and can be involved in this aim as individual learners and also educators for younger students. Objectives: A group of 15 Italian residents in Public Health were involved in creating and delivering 4 lessons on urban health to 319 students at Nomentano High School in Rome during spring 2022. After the 4th lesson, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the residents in order to assess perceptions, acceptance, barriers and facilitators of the experience. Data was gathered anonymously and analyzed using standard qualitative methods.

Results:
All the residents answered the interview. Almost all reported the experience as highly impactful for training, team building, and increase in accountability. Most of residents also felt more confident on the topic of urban health and more involved in concrete actions for tackling pollution and climate change after delivering the lessons. Most perceived barriers mentioned were difficulties interacting with students, especially during the first two lessons, and their compliance. The opportunity to give lessons in the high school setting facilitated direct contact with students and better feedback was received.

Conclusions:
Giving responsibility and leadership roles to Public Health residents and involving them in the education of younger students could improve their self-confidence and feelings of value and helpfulness, especially for urban health and climate change issues sensed by youth. Further experiences in other settings, specialties, and countries could be valuable to notice differences related to age groups and personal involvement. Key messages: The involvement of Public Health residents in education on urban health is highly impactful and well perceived for their personal growth. This kind of experience is applicable to other relevant topics in Public Health. Background: WHO states that 9 out of 10 persons in the world do not breath clean air and 8 million people die prematurely from air pollution each year. The problem is well understood, but actions to mitigate it are lacking. The purpose of the EUfunded AQ-WATCH Project is precisely to develop effective tools based on the most advanced science technologies to help decision-makers in government and the private sector to address air pollution issues in regions of the world where they operate. Objectives: AQ-WATCH aims to develops a supply chain to generate innovative downstream products for improving air quality forecasts and attribution based on existing space/in-situ observations to improve public health and to optimize renewable energy in regions of the world. The project consortium includes research and business-oriented partners, who brings together the required expertise to define the optimal functionalities of these products to bring them to the market.

Results:
The AQ-WATCH products are organized into 5 modules: (1) Air quality atlas, (2) Air quality attribution & mitigation, (3) Dust and fire forecast, (4) Fracking analysis, and (5) Air quality forecast. They are developed for 3 target regions (Beijing, Colorado and Santiago de Chile) and are integrated into a unified user-interface, the AQ-WATCH Toolkit. Product developers and prime users in the target regions are constantly 15th European Public Health Conference 2022 interacting, and the user feedback is collected, analyzed and included during the product development.

Conclusions:
Collaborative work done in AQ-WATCH shows strategic interaction between our research and business-oriented partners. Contributions from local parties are proven to be valuable for regional adaption of the products. A throughout dissemination including regional workshops is essential to ensure proper knowledge uptake by the target audience. Constant exchange with the private sector is required for a smooth transfer from scientific results to commercialized marketable products. Key messages: The AQ-WATCH Project follows EU's initiative to utilize its space observations with added values to develop easilyaccessible tools to fight air pollution applicable to regions of the world. The AQ-WATCH Toolkit is developed with iterative feedback exchanges between product developers and local users to address air pollution issues, and will be eventually exploited to the market.

Background:
Climate change has far-reaching consequences on human health globally. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the global leading cause of death, are climate sensitive, mainly to temperature. The temperature-CVD association is regionspecific, with several studies from Europe but relatively few from low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods:
We used a binomial regression model to analyze the association between apparent temperature and in-hospital CVD mortality in Puducherry city. A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to capture the delayed and non-linear trends over a 21 day lag period to estimate the burden of inhospital CVD mortalities attributable to non-optimal temperature between 2010 and 2020.

Results:
Tapp in Puducherry ranges from 23 C to 40 C. We found that the optimal temperature range for Puducherry is between 33 C and 35 C with respect to CVDs. Temperatures both above and below the optimal temperature range were associated with an increased risk of overall in-hospital CVD mortalities, resulting in a U-shaped association curve. Up to 20% of the CVD deaths could be attributable to non-optimal temperatures, with a slightly higher burden attributable to cold (11.2%) than heat (9.12%). We also found that males above 60 years of age were more vulnerable to colder temperatures while females above 60 years were more vulnerable to the heat. Mortality with cerebrovascular accidents was associated more with heat compared to cold, and ischemic heart diseases did not seem to be affected by temperature.

Conclusions:
Both cold and heat is associated with CVD mortality in Puducherry. The comparison of the results of this exploratory Indian study with those from European contexts show that the associations differ based on several factors. There are also age, gender and CVD type differences in Tapp attributable CVD mortalities. More region specific studies on Tapp-CVD mortality are needed from LMICs to better understand this association and build capacity. Key messages: The regional burden of cold attributable CVD deaths needs to be considered along with heat. Age and gender specific differences in the association need to be further studied globally. The development regional and contextual climate-health action plans, as seen in some European countries, could be enhanced by such studies and reduce the burden of temperature attributable CVD deaths. Background and Aims: The Regions Ostrava and Karvina are the most polluted areas in the Czech Republic. The aim of this study was the analysis of effect of ambient fine particles (PM2.5) on acute hospital admissions for respiratory causes.

Methods:
In the period 2013-2019, a total of 20,490 cases of acute hospitalization from respiratory causes (J00-99 according to ICD-10) was registered. The daily PM2.5 concentrations were measured at 5 stations. The analyses were performed in two ways: i) including extreme values (max. 224 mg.m-3) and ii) for PM2.5<60 mg.m-3 (5% of the highest values were cut off). The generalized additive model (GAM) for Poisson distribution was used for the analyses; the "thin plate regression spline'' was applied to smooth the pressure, relative humidity and a temperature. The model was adjusted for meteorological conditions, incidence of acute respiratory infections, days off, the order of a day in a week and the area. The calculation was done for lag0 to lag3 days. The analyses were completed using the SW Stata v.14 and SW R v.3.6.1 with the use of mgcv package v.1.8-28.

Conclusions:
The analyses confirmed the effect of ambient fine particulates (PM2.5) on acute hospital admissions for respiratory causes in the regions Ostrava and Karvina. This presentation was supported by the project TH03030195 of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic and the project Healthy Aging in the Industrial Environment CZ.02.1.01/0.0/ 0.0/16_019/0000798 (HAIE).

Key messages:
A positive association was confirmed between short-term concentrations of PM2.5 and acute hospital admissions for respiratory causes (lag0-lag3).