Improving indoor air quality through behaviour change

Air pollution is considered to be responsible for more than 28,000 deaths each year in the UK alone, and long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular and respiratory illness, birth-defects and neuro-degenerative disorders (Laverge et al., 2015). Nearly all studies of health effects to date have used measurements from fixed outdoor air pollution monitoring networks- but in developed countries such as the UK, we spend 90% of our time indoors with approximately two thirds of this in our homes. In short, more research examining indoor air quality is needed, both with respect to understanding the sources of and impact of indoor air pollutants, but also exploring the individual behaviours and other social, economic or lifestyle factors that can lead to increased exposure to air pollutants indoors.

INGENIOUS is a 4-year interdisciplinary research project funded by NERC (see ‘Air Quality and Urban Homes: https://www.ukri.org/news/exploring-how-air-pollution-in-indoor-spaces-affects-human-health/) that aims to provide the most comprehensive understanding of indoor air pollution in UK homes to date, with input from scientists and social scientists from multiple disciplines. The behavioural science workstream on this project aims to better understand why behaviours that impact on indoor air pollution occur (or don’t occur), and how we can use this knowledge to design and evaluate behaviour change interventions to reduce indoor air pollutant emissions and exposure. There is therefore the opportunity for a PhD student to work alongside this project and conduct complementary research to help improve indoor air quality through changes in behaviour.