"We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator."
- António Guterres
New Publication
The Canadian Environmental Quality Index (Can-EQI): Development and calculation of an index to assess spatial variation of environmental quality in Canada's 30 largest cities
Multiple characteristics of the urban environment have been shown to influence population health and health-related behaviours, though the distribution and combined effects of these characteristics on health is less understood. A composite measure of multiple environmental conditions would allow for comparisons among different urban areas; however, this measure is not available in Canada. We identified and selected nine datasets across five domains (outdoor air pollution, natural environments, built environments, radiation, and climate/weather). Datasets were chosen based on known impacts on human health across the life course, complete geographic coverage of the cities of interest, and temporal alignment with the 2016 Canadian census. The Canadian Environmental Quality Index (Can-EQI) was created by summing decile ranks of each variable based on hypothesized relationships to health outcomes. We selected 30 cities with a population of more than 100,000 people which included 28,026 DAs and captured approximately 55% of the total Canadian population. Can-EQI scores ranged from 21.1 to 88.9 out of 100, and in Canada’s largest cities were 10.2 (95% CI: −10.7, −9.7) points lower than the smallest cities. Our work demonstrates a valuable methodology for exploring variations in environmental conditions in Canada’s largest urban areas and provides a means for exploring the role of environmental factors in explaining urban health inequalities and disparities.
About Daniel
I'm a professor in health promotion, a member of the Healthy Populations Institute, and flagship project co-lead, Creating Sustainable Health Systems in a Climate Crisis, at Dalhousie University. I work with a fantastic team of trainees and colleagues to explore the relationships between the quality of the environment and human health. The quality of the environment can be beneficial, like when we take time to immerse ourselves in nature; or, it can be detrimental such as when we are exposed to harmful contaminants.
My research is focused on measuring the characteristics of the environment, investigating how these characteristics affect our health, and experimenting with solutions and interventions toward a sustainable, healthy lifespan. If this type of work sounds interesting or even fascinating to you then please get in touch.
I'm always looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join or support the team. Opportunities.
