The Health Effects Institute
	PAPA-SAN Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia: Science Access on the Net
About the PAPA Program and PAPA-SAN The PAPA program HEI launched the Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) program in 2002 in partnership with the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI–Asia). The program collects and reviews research on the health effects of air pollution in Asia, supports new research, and helps the region’s scientific communities build their capacity to conduct research and communicate their results effectively to key policymakers in government, industry, international lending agencies, and other stakeholders. So far, seven PAPA studies have been funded that focus on daily air pollution and health outcomes in the cities of Bangkok, Thailand; Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Wuhan, China; and Chennai, Delhi, and Ludhiana, India. The program has also funded a pilot study on the feasibility of assessing the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution among the elderly in Guangzhou, China, and is lending technical assistance to a study of the relationship among air pollution, poverty, and health in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. You can learn more about the PAPA program here. Special Report 15 An important early contribution of the PAPA program was the publication of HEI Special Report 15, Health Effects of Outdoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries of Asia: A Literature Review, in 2004. Special Report 15 brought together, for the first time, information on a previously uncompiled body of peer-reviewed scientific literature. The report accomplished the following: • Systematically identified original epidemiologic reports on the health effects of air pollution in Asia that were published from 1980 through 2003; • Provided partial quantitative summaries (in English and Chinese) and a critical review of the reports; • Examined in detail a subgroup of the time-series studies that estimated the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily mortality and hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory disease; • Placed the results of the studies in a context of air pollution and health science more broadly; and • Identified gaps in knowledge that should be addressed in future research. Special Report 15 was prepared by PAPA’s International Scientific Oversight Committee, a panel of leading independent scientists from around the world that guides the development of the PAPA research programs and serves as a resource for policymakers. The PAPA-SAN database PAPA-SAN has been updated periodically so as to include the most recent pertinent reports from around the world, as well as some older reports that have eluded earlier searches. In April 2006, the data from the literature search conducted for Special Report 15 were updated, expanded, and published online as PAPA-SAN. A further updated version of PAPA-SAN, covering reports published through June 2006, was released on the Web in December 2006. The current version of PAPA-SAN, covering reports identified through September 2007, was released on the Web in May 2008. New critical review being prepared PAPA’s International Scientific Oversight Committee is currently preparing a new special report to be entitled Outdoor Air Pollution and Health in Developing Countries of Asia: A Second Critical Review and Research Needs Assessment, which is expected to be published by HEI in 2009. This special report will include a new critical review of the reports now listed in PAPA-SAN, a quantitative meta-analysis of results of selected time-series studies, and a meta-analysis of the findings of studies of chronic health effects. It will also include descriptions and, insofar as possible, results of time-series studies funded by the PAPA program, which are estimating the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily mortality and morbidity in seven cities in China, Thailand, and India. PAPA-SAN project staff Read about the project’s staff and contributors. References World Health Organization. 2002. The World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. WHO, Geneva, Switzerland. World Health Organization. 2006. Presented by M. Krzyzanowski, Regional Advisor, Air Quality and Health, WHO/Euro, in "Why we need better air quality?" at the Better Air Quality Conference 2006, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
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