The Medical University of Łódź (Poland) in partnership with the Medical University of Sofia (Bulgaria) and the University of Tartu (Estonia), is implementing a project within the Seed Fund Alliance4Life_ACTIONS initiative , the activities of which include development of the manual concerning the relationship between environmental pollution and the incidence of disease on a regional basis as a tool for improving health behaviour.
According to the European Green Deal, human-induced environmental pollution is a growing threat to our health and lives. In 2018, it was noted that environmental pollution accounted for about 16% of the causes of all deaths globally. It is estimated that more than 7 million people die annually as a result of exposure to polluted air, i.e. particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. City dwellers are exposed to high levels of traffic noise, which also causes a health risk.
The main concept of the project was both to assess the awareness of populations about progressive climate change due to environmental pollution and its interaction with human health, and to learn about environmental behaviour in different European regions in order to plan future, more extended research and international public health initiatives.
The pilot study was conducted by a diagnostic survey method using a survey technique with culturally adapted and translated survey questionnaires, i.e. the General Ecological Behaviour Scale and the Environmental Issues and Climate Change Survey Questionnaire. The questionnaires were prepared in Google Forms and disseminated online. The results of the survey were to verify the cultural fit of the survey, the average time required to complete the questionnaire, the difficulty of the questions and a preliminary assessment of the public’s awareness of the project topics. The staff responsible for the implementation of the project at the Medical University of Lodz are: – Coordinator of the project: dr hab. n. o zdr. prof. uczelni Anna Lipert, Department of Preventive Medicine, coordinator of Living LAB (MOLecoLAB) – dr hab. n. med. prof. uczelni Magdalena Kwaśniewska, Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine – dr n. med. Joanna Ruszkowska, Department of Preventive Medicine – prof. Anna Zalewska-Janowska, Head of the Department of Psychodermatology – dr n. med. Bartłomiej Tarkowski, Department of Psychodermatology – dr n. med. Edyta Borkowska, Department of Clinical and Laboratory Genetics – mgr Tomasz Jasiński, Office of Science, Strategy and Development, sustainable development coordinator
As part of the project, on 26-28 February 2024 a stationary meeting in Tartu, Estonia was organized to plan further international cooperation, including continuing the research by extending it also to other regions of Europe and jointly developing and submitting a project under the European Union’s Horizon funds.
