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The Health Effects Institute


HEI International
 

In keeping with its Strategic Plan 2005-2010 (660 KB), HEI is bringing an increasingly international perspective to its work, both as a means to bring the best of global science to bear on its extensive work to inform policy decisions in the US, and to help build the scientific capacity in other regions of the world.  

For more than a decade, HEI has drawn the world’s best air pollution and health researchers into its strategic research program through its competitive research selection process. The results of those efforts – policy-relevant studies on particulate matter, diesel exhaust, air toxics, and other topics – are an integral part of our scientific program, and can be found in our Publications Database.

This page will provide information on international initiatives as it becomes available. 

News from HEI’s Current International Initiatives:

Among its broader international activities, HEI is implementing Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA)— a program to build better understanding of the effects of air pollution on health in Asia. PAPA was launched at the Better Air Quality Conference and annual meeting of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities held in Hong Kong in December of 2002 and has been actively engaged in identifying and working with science and scientists in the region.

For the latest on PAPA, check the following:

  •  UPDATED MAY 2008  PAPA-SAN (Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia—Science Access on the Net) is the world’s largest database of research reports on the health effects of air pollution in Asia. It was systematically compiled from the peer-reviewed scientific literature in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. PAPA-SAN is a unique resource for scientists, policy-makers, international lending organizations, and other stakeholders seeking access to the latest air pollution research from across the region. This new version of PAPA-SAN has been expanded by the addition of more than 140 new reports and now includes 421 reports from 11 Asian countries, published between 1980 and September 2007. For the first time, reports from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are included, as well as reports on studies of biomarkers of exposure to benzene and lead. For each report, PAPA-SAN provides the citation, a summary of findings, other key data and, when available, a link to the abstract. Results are presented in table form, sorted by country or region, study design, pollutant, and health outcome as well as in written form by country.

    PAPA-SAN was produced by HEI’s Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) program in partnership with the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia). It is the latest update of a database originally published in HEI’s Special Report 15: Health Effects of Outdoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries of Asia (2004). We will continue to search the literature periodically to make sure PAPA-SAN is up to date. Please visit PAPA-SAN to learn more about the project, download the result tables, and read the summaries.

 
  • Special Report 15: Health Effects of Outdoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries of Asia, 2004. This first publication to come from the PAPA Program was undertaken to help inform the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities. This special report has identified and summarized more than 135 studies of air pollution and health conducted across Asia. In addition, it critically reviews for the first time a key subset of these studies: 28 studies of daily mortality. The report is a valuable resource for policy makers in Asia and beyond.
    Please click here to access Special Report 15.

To learn more about PAPA follow these links:

The following studies have been funded under PAPA; all studies have been completed and their reports are currently undergoing review:

Bangkok, Thailand
"Estimating the Mortality Effects of Air Pollution in Bangkok, Thailand"
Dr. Nuntavarn Vichit-Vadakan, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Hong Kong, China
"Interaction Between Air Pollution and Respiratory Viruses: Time-series Studies for Daily Mortality and Hospital Admission"
Dr. Chit-Ming Wong, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Shanghai, China
"A Time-series Study of Ambient Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in Shanghai, China"
Dr. Haidong Kan, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Wuhan, China
"Ambient Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in Wuhan"
Dr. Zhengmin Qian, Pennsylvania State University, College Park, USA

Chennai, India
"Developing Exposure-response Functions for Air Pollutants from Time-series Analyses – A Pilot Exercise in Chennai, India"
Dr. Kalpana Balakrishnan, Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai, India

Delhi, India
"Time-series Study on Air Pollution and Mortality in Delhi, India"
Dr. Uma Rajarathnam, The Energy and Resources Institute, Delhi, India

Ludhiana, India
"A Time-series Study on the Relation of Air Pollution and Mortality in Ludhiana City, India"
Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

For more information on the PAPA studies, please contact Sumi Mehta (+1-617-886-9330 ext 306)

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June 19, 2008