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• Air pollution, poor health and deprivation can combine as a 'triple jeopardy' to disproportionately affect high-risk population groups. • The UK local air quality management regime prescribes that air pollution risks are considered without regard for wider health determinants. • HAP-RAP is a new public health-driven approach to risk assessment that can complement and enhance existing processes. • HAP-RAP encourages consideration of air pollution risks in a broad public health context and can enhance policy and practice integration. Air pollution, poor health and deprivation are inextricably linked. These stressors can combine to create a triple jeopardy effect where more deprived individuals and communities can be disproportionately affected by exposure to air pollution. Despite acknowledgement of this, however, the current statutory Local Air Quality Management regime prescribes that air pollution risks are considered in isolation. This project aimed to develop and test application of a practical method for carrying out air pollution risk assessment in the context of wider health determinants. A number of data components describing health, air pollution and deprivation at small area level were identified for one health board area (comprising two local authority areas) in Wales for 2011-15. These data were then combined within each of the triple jeopardy domains and then overall to assign each small area a prioritisation score to inform air quality management action. Areas were then ranked in order with a view to identifying priority areas (and clusters) for integrated air quality management and public health intervention. Local environmental and public health stakeholders were involved throughout the process and asked to provide feedback on the approach, particularly in relation to applying it in practice and evaluating its merit in terms of helping achieve local and national wellbeing policy goals. The piloted tool - called Health and Air Pollution Risk Assessment/Area Prioritisation (HAP-RAP) - offered a contemporary public health-driven approach to risk assessment intended to complement existing [narrow focus] prescribed air quality management approaches. It highlighted areas for action that were different in location, scale and size from local air quality management areas declared through existing processes. Further, stakeholder comments suggested the approach can help support more collaborative, effective and efficient ways of working, facilitate stronger policy and practice integration and achieve greater population health impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Accurate information on the incidence of serious road traffic casualties is needed to plan and evaluate prevention strategies. Traditionally police reported collisions are the only data used. This study investigate the extent to which understanding of trends in serious road traffic injuries is aided by the use of multiple datasets. Health and police datasets covering all or part of Great Britain from 1996–2003 were analysed. There was a significantly decreasing trend in police reported serious casualties but not in the other datasets. Multiple data sources provide a more complete picture of road traffic casualty trends than any single dataset. Increasing availability of electronic health data with developments in anonymised data linkage should provide a better platform for monitoring trends in serious road traffic casualties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]