Operationalizing the Health-Environment Nexus: Measuring Environmental Health Inequalities to Inform Policy
Abstract
The identification of vulnerable individuals and communities at risk in order to target public health interventions relies on environmental health inequality indicators based on exposure assessment processes. The indicator framework should be able to investigate the processes taking place at the interface between the environment and the populations, and to characterize the principal environmental impact factors. The goal of this chapter is to contribute to the development of policy-relevant environmental health inequality indicators. I first present the scientific contexts in which the characterization of Environmental Health Inequalities operates and the need for indicators to inform decision-making. Examples of existing indicators are then briefly examined to present concise measurement frameworks and issues in data processing. Finally, I offer some recommendations as to the type of indicators needed and their possible integration in public policies.