# Presentation: 169093

## Testing and Evaluating the Air Quality Health Index

**Dave Henderson **
**Meteorological Service of Canada Environment Canada**
- EPA AirNow Conference
- February 12, 2006
- Orlando FL   USA

- www.ec.gc.ca

## Outline

- The Five Ws (and an H)
- What Did We Learn
- What Are We Doing About It

## What

- A new air quality index reflecting the short-term risk posed by the air pollutant mixture. It has been developed to support public health protection and is not a tool for air quality management.
- AQHI testing has involved:
- Observed/measured and forecast conditions
- AQHI graphical presentation
- Health and environmental messaging
- Outreach techniques

## Why

- Objective
- Operational Feasibility: Could we do it?
- Dissemination: Did they get it?
- Understanding: Did they GET it?
- Did not test
- Behaviour Change: Did They Do Anything About It?

## Where and When  

- British Columbia
- Summer/Fall 2005 – 4 BC Interior communities
- Summer 2006 -Ongoing – nearly province-wide (14 locations including the Greater Vancouver Region District)
- Nova Scotia
- 2006 – 3 cities (including Halifax)

## Who 

- British Columbia
**Lead by provincial Ministry of Environment**
**Support from local Health Authorities, BC Lung Association, Health Canada and Environment Canada**
- Nova Scotia
- Lead by provincial Nova Scotia Environment and Labour
- Support from provincial Nova Scotia Health, Health Canada and Environment Canada

## How

- British Columbia (public)
- 2005  Internet and outreach to drive people towards AirPlay
- 2006  Internet and outreach to drive people towards Air Play. Radio dissemination in one community supported by a modest and creative outreach campaign
- Nova Scotia (private)
- 2006  Internet and automated telephone answering devices

## Evaluation

**British Columbia**
- 2005
- Internet questionnaire
- 2006
- Internet questionnaire
- Qualitative focus groups
- Quantitative survey
- Outreach** **
**Nova Scotia**
- Quantitative and Qualitative testing of focus group participants
- AQHI Forecast Evaluations (against observed conditions) were carried out for all pilots

**Notes:**

Quantitative

## What Did We Learn - Confirmation

- AQHI is useful as a risk assessment and planning tool
- Potential to increase awareness of health and air quality
- Potential to increase awareness of environmental issues and promote action on clean air
- AQHI colours and graphics intuitive
- Sensorial experience drives judgement of air quality
- Multiple mediums for dissemination are desirable
- Newsworthiness of AQHI
- Cognitive dissonance is still high  – understanding vs actions

## What did we learn – Confirmation (cont)

- A “one size fits all” AQHI does not always resonate
- Desire for the index to reflect or explain the local pollutant mixture is important
- General understanding of variable population sensitivities (some groups are more sensitive than others)
- Concept of “low or no” thresholds also well understood (there is no safe level)

## What Did We Learn - Surprising

- Natural self-calibration to personal experience
- AQHI viewed as authoritative
- More interest in real-time values than forecast
- Curiosity about monitoring network and the spatial representativeness of monitors
- Curiosity of air quality levels in different cities
- Strength of the association between air quality and  weather
- The popularity of automated telephone answering devices

## What Did We Learn – Surprising (cont)

- Health community as a source of air quality and health information variable
- Media (radio) performance of services in the public good
- People are passionate about the air pollution in their community (especially their local pollutant or local source of pollution)

## What Are We Doing About It

- National evaluation of all testing and inputs
- National exercise to brand the AQHI
- Operational testing in locations with more variable or higher AQHI levels for this year
- Improving the presentation of the AQHI
- Provision of additional environmental information to support personal planning activities
- Developing more detailed outreach materials on index description
- Discussion with mass media partners

## What are we doing about it (cont)

- Expert panel to evaluate the applicability of existing monitoring network for issuing AQHI
- Highlighting forecast element to be used as a planning tool
- Developing techniques to deal with PM10, SO2 and TRS and communications for those and other sensory experiences

## Take Home Messages

- Final stages of AQHI development are being informed by Canadians through operational testing/pilots
- Operational testing has demonstrated an appetite for the AQHI in all locations
- Further piloting with a transition to implementation planned for this summer across Canada
- Evaluation of the AQHI will provide a continuous feedback loop during the national implementation phase.

## www.ec.gc.ca