Selecting Indicators to Monitor and Assess Environmental Health in a Portuguese Urban Setting: A Participatory Approach

Abstract

Environmental health (EH) is influenced by complex interactions between health and the built and natural environments, there being little research on its specificities in urban settings. The use of suitable indicators to monitor and assess EH is fundamental in informing evidence-based interventions at the local level. A participatory approach to selecting indicators to inform the monitoring and assessment of EH in Lisbon is herein considered. Evidence derived from a systematic review of literature and data from Lisbon and Portuguese databases were analyzed by 12 Portuguese experts in individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews aimed at identifying relevant indicators and important emerging issues in the Lisbon urban setting. The outputs from the interviews were validated by a two-round Web-Delphi process in which panelists (22 experts) from different areas of expertise expressed their views regarding the relevance of the indicators for the analysis of EH in urban settings. Seventeen indicators were validated in the Web-Delphi process. High participation achieved along this process supports the view that this participatory approach was useful for validation. Results from the adopted participatory approach point out gaps in the collection of noise and mobility indicators data and raise emerging issues on housing indicators that require further research. The results also suggest the need for local action to improve indicators and tools in order to help the monitorization of EH in urban contexts. The adopted participatory approach can be replicated for other Portuguese and European urban settings.

Forecasting Global Developments and Challenges in Olive Oil Supply and Demand: A Delphi Survey from Spain

“…In addition, to take it one step further, real-time Delphi schemes can be applied to make the process more interactive, engaging, and rapid [87,88]. Another option would be to carry out internetbased Delphi, taking advantage of the technological platforms in enhancing a classic Delphi research process through facilitating discussion among participants separated by place and time [53,89]. In addition, it is worthwhile to explore the potential usefulness of combining Delphi with other techniques, using Delphi as a means of eliciting group-based estimates for integration with other futures methodologies (e.g., cross-impact analysis [90], scenario studies [91]) as well as, for instance, for establishing exogenous variables and parameters for statistical or econometric models [92,93].…”

Setting Requirements for a Dashboard to Inform Portuguese Decision-Makers About Environment Health in an Urban Setting

“…Aiming to identify the requirements for a dashboard to monitor EH in urban settings, taking Lisbon as a case study, this work succeeds two previous studies: in a first study the evidence on which indicators are relevant for analyzing EH in urban settings was gathered through a systematic review of literature described in detail in Salgado et al (34); and in a second study a participatory approach was implemented with Portuguese EH stakeholders and experts to select a comprehensive set of built and natural environment indicators suitable to assess and monitor EH in the Lisbon urban context (5). This study aims to further advance in the involvement of EH stakeholders and experts in the definition of requirements for a dashboard to support EH monitoring and decision-making in the Lisbon urban context.…”

“…Drawing on the evidence and data collected, a wide number of Portuguese EH experts were involved in selecting and validating built and natural environment indicators relevant to monitor EH in Lisbon [details in (5)]. A mixed-methodology was implemented combining a set of 12 semi-structured interviews and a two-round Web-Delphi process, to validate a list of 17 relevant indicators deemed as relevant for monitoring monitor EH in the Lisbon urban setting (Figure 2).…”

“…Common challenges related with health data have been data standardization; database linkage, integration and sharing; selection of key data for decision-making; and finding a balance between evidence and research data to be included within decision tools (5,6). Challenges related to translating data into better decision-making concern the creation of decision aiding tools in which evidence and data are understandable and inform about the extent to which specific policy goals are attained (7,8), and tailoring such tools to the specific settings (9).…”

“…Lisbon has been recently nominated as European Green Capital 2020 and promoting several EH-related initiatives, as well as expressing the need and scope to develop and implement tools like dashboards to evaluate EH (33). There being a lack of tools to monitor EH at the local and urban context (5), there being a need to develop a dashboard to monitor EH in Lisbon, as well as scope for a proper elicitation of dashboard user requirements to inform the construction of EH monitorisation tools in urban settings (1), this study aims at developing and implementing methods to identify users' requirements and expectations to feed the construction of a dashboard to monitor EH in the Lisbon city.…”