Knowledge Synthesis on Measures of Environmental Deprivation in Health Inequalities (MEDHI) Research: A Knowledge Synthesis on the Environment

The environment influences our health in many ways, usually through our interaction with physical, chemical and biological exposures. The World Health Organization estimates that environmental risk factors play a role in more than 80% of the diseases they regularly report on, and account for nearly a quarter of all deaths and disease burden world-wide. Not all environments are unhealthy. Green spaces and natural areas offer benefits to health and help to maintain a healthy environment. Health status is also related to social determinants of health - things like income and education - and people who are deprived of these factors are likely to be less healthy. This kind of social deprivation is strongly related to the development of health inequalities, or that some people are healthier than others. However, much less is known about the development of health inequalities from unequal exposures to environmental factors, or how some people may be affected by both social and environmental deprivation. This study aims to synthesize knowledge about the health relevant dimensions of environmental deprivation. A review of the evidence on environmental deprivation will be supplemented by an expert panel to reach a consensus on which aspects of the environment would be useful towards the development of an environmental deprivation index. The results of this study will be particularly useful to our decision-maker partner and their provincial-level on-line data dissemination system designed to help make evidence-based decisions to improve health and well-being.