Air pollution

*NEW* RCPCH Webinar: Upskilling child health professionals to talk about air pollution

In this webinar, we join the RCPCH’s Clean Air Fund Partnership team to explore the barriers to talking to children, young people and their families about air pollution, and to learn how clinicians can overcome them.

Speakers

  • Zara Raffeeq
  • Dr Emily Parker
  • Dr Alice Willson

Date of Recording

September 9, 2024

Available Until

September 8, 2025

Post-Webinar evaluation form

About this webinar

In 2017-19, an estimated 7% of paediatric asthma admissions in London were linked to spikes in air pollution. Despite this, UK clinicians are unlikely to talk to their patients about air pollution, and even less likely to advocate for broader change.

We joined the RCPCH’s Clean Air Fund Partnership team to explore the barriers to talking to children, young people and their families about air pollution, and to learn how clinicians can overcome them.

This event was in partnership with #askaboutasthma 2024.

Key messages

Research shows that despite recognising the significance of air pollution, UK health care professionals (HCP’s) are not taking action

This is a wasted opportunity as HCP’s, and in particular paediatricians, are among the most trusted in society

There are a number of barriers: lack of knowledge and confidence, perceived junior status, and air pollution being seen as an environmental issue

Actually, most HCP’s already know enough information, and you don’t need to know everything to be able to communicate – it's just about starting a conversation

Sometimes HCP’s worry about whether it is morally right to introduce a topic without an easy answer: we argued that it is, because denying CYP and families important information is paternalistic and impedes their ability to help themselves

Once you’ve armed yourself with knowledge and confidence, it’s much easier to take the leap to engage with CYP/families or to advocate more widely – see our helpful resources below

Get involved

RCPCH Clean Air Network

The RCPCH has recently launched a Clean Air Network. Its primary aim is to mobilise and empower paediatricians as advocates for clean air, providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills to raise awareness about air pollution’s impact on child health.

If interested, find out more and sign up for the Clean Air Network.

If you have any queries please contact us at cleanair@rcpch.ac.uk

Useful links and resources

Air pollution poses a serious threat to children’s health in the UK, contributing to a range of adverse health outcomes and premature mortality. This updated position statement reviews the latest evidence, now including the impact of indoor air pollution on children. With pollutants from both outdoor and indoor environments presenting serious risks to the health and development of children and young people, there is an urgent need for comprehensive policy measures to safeguard their future.

Read the statement

Key reports:

Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution. RCP/RCPCH 2016

CMO report 2022

Coroner’s report 2021

State of Global Air 2024

A useful multilanguage video explaining what air pollution is: 

Video: Asthma and Air Quality – North Central London Integrated Care System

Talking to patients 

Start by communicating well with CYP generally. See the RCPCH &Us resources: 

Top tips for paediatricians and healthcare workers – RCPCH &Us

A really useful toolkit from WHO that can be applied to air pollution specifically:

Communicating on climate change and health: Toolkit for health professionals

Support yourself and patients by using reliable leaflets such as from Global Action Plan:

Air pollution and child health leaflet

Air pollution and children’s health checklist

Advocate for change 

This is an example of a community working together to improve air pollution: Breathe London 

This case study shows how public health measures (for other reasons) can dramatically improve health outcomes if the will is there: Differences in Birth Weight Associated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics Air Pollution Reduction: Results from a Natural Experiment

A collaborative of child health professionals who campaign for clean air and active travel: Ride for their lives – Home 

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    In this webinar, Dr Helena Clements, RCPCH Officer for Climate Change, in conversation with Dr Camilla Kingdon, former RCPCH President and chair of the Health Air Coalition as they delve into air pollution and child health advocacy, drawing from their expertise and personal journeys.

Continued Professional Development (CPD)

We do not issue CPD certificates for webinars or podcasts, as we are unable to verify participation.

However, you are still able to record as a CPD activity as you normally would, detailing what you have learned and how the learning will benefit your practice.

When recording the activity, delegates should focus on the reflection and detail the following:

  • What did you learn?
  • What effect has/will the learning had/have on your current practice?
  • What further learning or action, if any, is needed as a result of the original learning activity?

If you have any questions, please contact the CPD team

If you use the RCPCH CPD Diary, you can click here to visit the diary and record your learning: Log your learning on the RCPCH CPD Diary

Speakers

  • Zara Raffeeq

    RCPCH Climate Change Project Coordinator

    Zara is the RCPCH Climate Change Project Coordinator, coordinating several aspects of the Clean Air Fund project including policy and communications. Prior to this role, Zara worked in the Health Policy Team, where she supported campaigns such as the Climate Change and Health Inequalities campaign along with policy research and committee support across a number of child health areas.

  • Dr Emily Parker

    Clinical Fellow - Clean Air Fund Partnership

    Emily is a paediatric junior doctor with a background in social anthropology. Before studying medicine, she worked in the charity and built environment sectors in Berlin and London. In 2022-23 Emily undertook a Paediatric Sustainability Fellowship in Newcastle, bringing together her interest in environmental sustainability with her work as a doctor. Her research addresses the carbon footprint of medicines, how to reduce medicines waste, and ‘green inhaler’ policy. She started working with the RCPCH as a Clean Air Fellow in January 2024. Her role is focused on developing RCPCH policy and supporting clinicians at all stages of their careers to become clean air advocates.

  • Dr Alice Willson

    Clinical Fellow - Clean Air Fund Partnership

    Alice is a general paediatric trainee in the North West. She has previously worked with RCPCH as a Global Links volunteer in Rwanda. Her interest in air pollution and health inequalities has grown out of clinical practice in respiratory medicine, and experience on the HEE Population Health fellowship 2022-23. Alice has a PGCE in medical education and instructs on multiple courses (APLS/NLS) bringing her expertise in communication to her Clean Air Fund work. When not at work, Alice can be found running in the fells or cycling with her two young children.

Found an issue? Please get in touch with us:

Email us at rcpchlearning@rcpch.ac.uk