DRU: Energy, Air Pollution, and Health Inequalities in Accra, Ghana: Understanding the Technological, Social, and Behavioral Determinants

该项目的目标是了解家庭级技术和城市基础设施如何影响城市居民接触空气污染的分布，从而加剧健康不平等。健康不平等在发展中世界快速发展的城市尤为重要，在这些城市，一些人由于获得了环境技术和保健服务，健康状况得到了显著改善。相反，城市贫民窟居民的健康结果和健康风险可能与贫困农村地区居民相似，甚至更糟，因为他们在家中和社区污染中都面临环境风险。城市地区暴露于空气污染可能是由于家庭做饭和取暖时使用能源产生的烟雾，以及交通、工业活动和基础设施造成的环境空气污染造成的。我们将测量空气污染暴露的分布，并估计由此对阿克拉的健康结果产生的影响。阿克拉是一个不断发展的城市中心，生物质燃料的使用仍然很普遍。阿克拉为了解能源技术和基础设施如何影响城市环境和健康不平等提供了独特的环境。阿克拉都市区的人口从1970年的60万增加到2000年的170万。在高收入地区、拥挤的贫民窟和较旧的内心区之间，社会经济地位、住房和城市基础设施存在巨大差异。阿克拉近60%的人口依靠木炭或木柴作为家庭能源的主要来源。家庭对与贫穷有关的环境风险的持续高度暴露，加上与城市环境污染源（如旧进口车辆）和城市内微型企业和城市外逆风工业场所的工业活动有关的暴露增加。这项研究将由来自健康、物理、社会科学和工程学的跨学科研究小组进行。我们将使用多学科的技术和方法来测量城市人口亚群体的空气污染暴露，其详细程度在以前的研究中是罕见的。我们将把这些测量与流行病学和计量经济学的方法结合起来，以了解空气污染暴露对健康不平等的最终影响。我们将在当地应用具体的研究结果，帮助设计方案和政策，以更好地管理阿克拉的空气污染。此外，方法和结果都可以应用于其他城市，以便在更广泛的背景下了解城市基础设施和能源政策造成的空气污染和健康不平等后果。除了科学效益和应用于更有效地管理减少空气污染和保健不平等的技术之外，该项目还将有助于为研究生和本科生以及寻求专业培训的学生创造教育机会。教育部分将侧重于方法以及研究结果在科学和政策方面的应用。该项目还将在哈佛大学和加纳大学的教师和学生之间建立牢固的联系，创造学习和研究机会。该项目得到了2005财年人类与社会动态优先领域竞赛奖项的支持。所有NSF理事会和办公室都参与了HSD竞赛和HSD奖项组合的协调管理。

The goal of this project is to understand how household level technologies and urban infrastructure affect the distribution of air pollution exposure among the residents of a city, in turn contributing to health inequalities. Health inequalities are particularly important in rapidly growing cities of the developing world, where some people enjoy significant health improvements because of access to environmental technologies and health services. Conversely, health outcomes and health risks for the residents of urban slums may be similar to, or worse than, those for residents of poor rural areas, as they are exposed to environmental risks both at home and due to neighborhood pollution. Air pollution exposure in urban areas may be caused by smoke from household energy use for cooking and heating, and by ambient air pollution from transportation and industrial activities and infrastructure.We will measure the distribution of exposure to air pollution, and estimate the resulting impacts on health outcomes in Accra, a growing urban center where biomass fuel use is still common. Accra provides a unique setting for understanding of how energy technology and infrastructure influence urban environmental and health inequalities. The population of Accra Metropolitan Area increased from 600,000 in 1970 to 1.7 million in 2000. There is substantial variation in socioeconomic status, housing, and urban infrastructure between the high-income areas, the crowded slums, and the older inner core areas. Nearly 60% of Accra's population relies on charcoal or firewood as the primary source of household energy. Persisting high levels of household exposure to environmental risks associated with poverty are coupled with increases in exposures associated with urban ambient pollution sources, such as old imported vehicles, and industrial activity in micro-enterprises within the city and in up-wind industrial sites outside the city. This research will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team of investigators from health, physical, and social sciences and engineering. We will use the techniques and methods of multiple disciplines to measure air pollution exposure in subgroups of the city's population, at a level of detail which is rare in previous studies. We will integrate these measurements with methods from epidemiology and econometrics to understand the resulting effects of air pollution exposure on health inequalities. We will apply the specific findings locally to help design programs and policies for better management of air pollution in Accra. In addition, both the methodology and the results can be applied to other cities, to understand the air pollution and health inequality consequences of urban infrastructure and energy policy in a broader context. Beyond the scientific benefits and applications to more effective management of technologies for reducing air pollution and health inequalities, the project will contribute to the development of educational opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as those seeking professional training. The educational component will focus both on methodology and on the scientific and policy applications of the findings of the study. The project will also establish strong links between faculty and students from Harvard University and the University of Ghana, creating learning and research opportunities.This project is supported by an award made in the FY 2005 competition in the Human and Social Dynamics priority area. All NSF directorates and offices are involved in the coordinated management of the HSD competition and the portfolio of HSD awards.