Reducing indoor air pollution through behaviour change

About the Project

Air pollution is estimated to cause more than 28,000 deaths each year in the UK, with long-term exposure associated with higher rates of cardiovascular and respiratory illness, birth-defects and neuro-degenerative disorders (Laverge et al., 2015). Interventions that reduce levels of air pollution or exposure to air pollution are therefore critical. However, in the UK, we spend around 90% of our time indoors with approximately two thirds of this in our homes. As such, reduction of indoor air pollution in people’s homes is likely to be particularly important for human health. Key sources of indoor air pollution in homes include those linked with human behaviour, such as use of wood burning stoves, cooking, and cleaning. Behaviour change interventions may therefore be well-suited to reduce production of and/or exposure to indoor air pollution in homes, to improve health.

Potential PhD projects in this area could look at why behaviours that impact on indoor air pollution occur (or don’t occur), and design and evaluate behaviour change interventions to reduce indoor air pollution and/or exposure to indoor air pollution. A range of methodological approaches may be used, including systematic review and meta-analysis or qualitative meta-synthesis, and primary quantitative and/or qualitative research.

Current and recent funded research that the primary supervisor has been involved with: INGENIOUS: Understanding Air Pollution in Homes - https://ingenious.york.ac.uk/; AIRHUB: Engineering Healthy Indoor Environments - https://www.air-hub.org.uk/