Research in environmental health aims to develop the interface between environmental engineering and public health.
Environmental health research sits within the Environment Research Group in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.
Common themes in environmental health include:
- the application of monitoring and modelling sciences to research questions in environmental epidemiology
- exposure assessment/characterisation
- risk-based assessment of environmental influences on health
Key areas of research
Public health
Our research activities include microbiological and chemical contamination of the environment around us, including water, air, and foodstuffs. Specific projects focus on:-
- human disease caused by the free-living amoeba, Acanthamoeba, and the association this organism has with contact lens wear
- the ecology of Legionella species in compost and the potential public health risk
- the development of a food safety management system based on the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles
Air quality & human health
Air quality research centres on development and evaluation of methods to provide accurate and extensive exposure estimates in environmental epidemiology studies of the health effects of pollution in urban areas. This research is closely linked to research on transport engineering. Our current projects include:
- the estimation of human exposure to traffic-related air pollutants
- epidemiological analyses of the contrasting effects of short, intermediate and long-term exposure to air pollutants on the population of Scotland
- evaluation of the health effects of relatively high traffic-related air pollution exposures on participants in extant public health epidemiological projects in the Glasgow urban area
Chikwawa project (Malawi)
The University of Strathclyde has worked with Chikwawa District Health Office in preventative health projects for over 15 years through environmental health links. These community health projects have included:
- research and interventions in remote rural areas including elements of maternal health
- water and sanitation
- disease control and prevention, through health education, capacity building and supporting capital investment
