Although there is increasing awareness of the health risks of air pollution as a global issue, few studies have focused on the methods for assessing individuals\' perceptions of these risks. This scoping review aimed to identify previous research evaluating individuals\' perceptions of air pollution and its health effects, and to explore the measurement of perceptions, as a key resource for health behaviour.
The review followed the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O\'Malley. PubMed and Web of Science were searched. After initial and full-text screening, we further selected studies with standardised scales that had previously been tested for reliability and validity in assessing awareness and perceptions.
After full-text screening, 95 studies were identified. \'Perception/awareness of air quality\' was often measured, as well as \'Perception of health risk.\' Only nine studies (9.5%) used validated scaled questionnaires. There was considerable variation in the scales used to measure the multiple dimensions of risk perception for air pollution.
Few studies used structured scales to quantify individuals\' perceptions, limiting comparisons among studies. Standardised methods for measuring health risk perception are needed.
Main findings: Among 95 studies assessing health risk perception of air pollution, only nine studies used standardised scales.Added knowledge: There was considerable variation in the scales measuring the multiple dimensions of risk perception for air pollution, which makes comparison among the studies difficult.Global health impact for policy and action: This review highlights the need for the development of globally standardised scale to measure the health risk perception of air pollution.

Air quality (AQ) significantly impacts human health, influenced by both natural phenomena and human activities. In 2021, heightened awareness of AQ\'s health impacts prompted the revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, advocating for stricter pollution standards. However, research on AQ has predominantly focused on high-income countries and densely populated cities, neglecting low- and middle-income countries, particularly Pacific Island Countries, Territories, and States (PICTS). This systematic review compiles existing peer-reviewed literature on AQ research in PICTS to assess the current state of knowledge and emphasize the need for further investigation. A systematic literature search yielded 40 papers from databases including Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase. Among the 26 PICTS, only 6 (Hawai\'i, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Republic of Marshall Islands, and Pacific) have been subject to AQ-related research, with 4 considering the World Health Organization (WHO) parameters and 26 addressing non-WHO parameters. Analysis reveals AQ parameters often exceed 2021 WHO guidelines for PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and CO, raising concerns among regional governments. Studies primarily focused on urban, agricultural, rural, and open ocean areas, with 15 based on primary data and 14 on both primary and secondary sources. Research interests and funding sources dictated the methods used, with a predominant focus on environmental risks over social, economic, and technological impacts. Although some papers addressed health implications, further efforts are needed in this area. This review underscores the urgent need for ongoing AQ monitoring efforts in PICTS to generate spatially and temporally comparable data. By presenting the current state of AQ knowledge, this work lays the foundation for coordinated regional monitoring and informs national policy development.

This study uses bibliometric techniques and social network analysis to evaluate 318 publications on air quality management in cities worldwide. The relevant data were retrieved from the Scopus database and analyzed using the VOSviewer 1.6.7 tools. The analysis included the number of publications, citation analyses, research study area analyses, and the most common keywords from 1975 to November 6, 2022. In addition, based on the results of the cluster analysis, we developed co-occurrence networks that enable a more specific keyword classification. The visualization showed the existing relationships between key terms, research study areas, and publications dealing with air quality management in cities. China, the United States, and the United Kingdom led in terms of the number of scientific publications and overall strength of connections during the study period. The most productive journal was Science of the Total Environment, followed by Atmospheric Environment, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Several limitations of the study are described and recommendations are made for future studies to increase the scope of studies and facilitate urban air quality management.

Ambient air ultrafine particles (UFP, particles with a diameter <100 nm) have gained significant attention in World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines and European legislation. This review explores UFP concentrations and particle number size distributions (PNC-PNSD) in various transportation hotspots, including road traffic, airports, harbors, trains, and urban commuting modes (walking, cycling, bus, tram, and subway). The results highlight the lack of information on personal exposure at harbors and railway stations, inside airplanes and trains, and during various other commuting modes. The different lower particle size limits of the reviewed measurements complicate direct comparisons between them. Emphasizing the use of instruments with detection limits ≤10 nm, this review underscores the necessity of following standardized UFP measurement protocols. Road traffic sites are shown to exhibit the highest PNC within cities, with PNC and PNSD in commuting modes driven by the proximity to road traffic and weather conditions. In closed environments, such as cars, buses, and trams, increased external air infiltration for ventilation correlates with elevated PNC and a shift in PNSD toward smaller diameters. Airports exhibit particularly elevated PNCs near runways, raising potential concerns about occupational exposure. Recommendations from this study include maintaining a substantial distance between road traffic and other commuting modes, integrating air filtration into ventilation systems, implementing low-emission zones, and advocating for a general reduction in road traffic to minimize daily UFP exposure. Our findings provide important insights for policy assessments and underscore the need for additional research to address current knowledge gaps.

UNASSIGNED: Significant mitigation efforts beyond the Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) coming out of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement are required to avoid warming of 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures. Health co-benefits represent selected near term, positive consequences of climate policies that can offset mitigation costs in the short term before the beneficial impacts of those policies on the magnitude of climate change are evident. The diversity of approaches to modeling mitigation options and their health effects inhibits meta-analyses and syntheses of results useful in policy-making.
UNASSIGNED: We evaluated the range of methods and choices in modeling health co-benefits of climate mitigation to identify opportunities for increased consistency and collaboration that could better inform policy-making. We reviewed studies quantifying the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation related to air quality, transportation, and diet published since the 2009 Lancet Commission \'Managing the health effects of climate change\' through January 2017. We documented approaches, methods, scenarios, health-related exposures, and health outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: Forty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Air quality, transportation, and diet scenarios ranged from specific policy proposals to hypothetical scenarios, and from global recommendations to stakeholder-informed local guidance. Geographic and temporal scope as well as validity of scenarios determined policy relevance. More recent studies tended to use more sophisticated methods to address complexity in the relevant policy system.
UNASSIGNED: Most studies indicated significant, nearer term, local ancillary health benefits providing impetus for policy uptake and net cost savings. However, studies were more suited to describing the interaction of climate policy and health and the magnitude of potential outcomes than to providing specific accurate estimates of health co-benefits. Modeling the health co-benefits of climate policy provides policy-relevant information when the scenarios are reasonable, relevant, and thorough, and the model adequately addresses complexity. Greater consistency in selected modeling choices across the health co-benefits of climate mitigation research would facilitate evaluation of mitigation options particularly as they apply to the NDCs and promote policy uptake.

Air pollution is one of the most pressing environmental threats worldwide, resulting in several health issues such as cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, as well as premature mortality. The harmful effects of air pollution are particularly concerning in urban areas, where mismanaged anthropogenic activities, such as growth in the global population, increase in the number of vehicles, and industrial activities, have led to an increase in the concentration of pollutants in the ambient air. Among air pollutants, particulate matter is responsible for most adverse impacts. Several techniques have been implemented to reduce particulate matter concentrations in the ambient air. However, despite all the threats and awareness, efforts to improve air quality remain inadequate. In recent years, urban vegetation has emerged as an efficient Nature-based Solution for managing environmental air pollution due to its ability to filter air, thereby reducing the atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter. This review characterizes the various mitigation mechanisms for particulate matter by urban vegetation (deposition, dispersion, and modification) and identifies key areas for further improvements within each mechanism. Through a systematic assessment of existing literature, this review also highlights the existing gaps in the present literature that need to be addressed to maximize the utility of urban vegetation in reducing particulate matter levels. In conclusion, the review emphasizes the urgent need for proper air pollution management through urban vegetation by integrating different fields, multiple stakeholders, and policymakers to support better implementation.

UNASSIGNED: Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) patients experience a lower quality of life, frequent exacerbations, and worse pulmonary function. Environmental management is essential in a complex chronic condition, as pollutant exposure can worsen symptoms and increase morbidity and mortality. We aimed to identify evidence that informs nursing interventions in promoting self-management of air quality in asthmatic people with COPD.
UNASSIGNED: We conducted an integrative review in March of 2023. We searched the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, Academic Search Complete, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), Scopus, Web of Science, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Evidence-Based Practice Database, and Google Scholar. We included articles whose participants were adults with asthma, COPD, or both; the intervention was air quality management and the outcome of any exacerbations. We excluded editorials, letters, commentaries, opinion papers, position papers, study protocols, conference abstracts, and reviews. Data extraction and synthesis were performed, categorizing interventions according to nursing actions. Methodological quality assessment was conducted using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist tools. The review protocol was registered at Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5Y4KW).
UNASSIGNED: We included five articles from different countries. The interventions promoting air quality self-management for individuals with asthma and COPD included vigilance interventions (health professional regular visits, assessment of symptoms), monitoring interventions (measurement of indoor and outdoor trigger factors), and educational interventions (air quality alerts, allergen avoidance). Policy interventions such as smoke-free policies and comprehensive strategies to improve air quality were also identified. These areas of focus represent critical components of nurses\' interventions and can integrate the fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. Although the studies reveal heterogeneous interventions and the methodological quality is variable, these interventions showed potential for preventing exacerbations, reducing emergency department visits, and minimizing hospitalizations.
UNASSIGNED: The study emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach involving nurses in multidisciplinary teams to air quality self-management. They can use these results to inform their interventions and ways of knowing, benefiting individuals with asthma and COPD. Further research is needed to expand the evidence base and refine these interventions.

Livestock facilities are widely regarded as reservoirs of infectious disease, owing to their abundance in particulate matter (PM) and microbial bioaerosols. Over the past decade, bioaerosol studies have increasingly utilised high throughput sequencing (HTS) to achieve superior throughput, taxonomic resolution, and the detection of unculturable organisms. However, the prevailing focus on amplicon sequencing has limited the identification of viruses and microbial taxa at the species-level. Herein, a literature search was conducted to identify methods capable of overcoming the aforementioned limitations. Screening 1531 international publications resulted in 29 eligible for review. Metagenomics capable of providing rich insights were identified in only three instances. Notably, long-read sequencing was not utilised for metagenomics. This review also identified that sample collection methods lack a uniform approach, highlighted by the differences in sampling equipment, flow rates and durations. Further heterogeneity was introduced by the unique sampling conditions, which makes it challenging to ground new findings within the established literature. For instance, winter was associated with increased microbial abundance and antimicrobial resistance, yet less alpha diversity. Researchers implementing metagenomics into the livestock environment should consider season, the microclimate, and livestock growth stage as influential upon their findings. Considering the increasing accessibility of long-read sequencing, future research should explore its viability within a novel uniform testing protocol for bioaerosol emissions.

Gaseous emissions have contributed to global warming, an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events and poorer air quality. The associated health impacts have been well reported in temperate regions. In Singapore, key climate change adaptation measures and activities include coastal and flood protection, and mitigating heat impacts. We systematically reviewed studies examining climate variability and air quality with population health in Singapore, a tropical city-state in South-East Asia (SEA), with the aim to identify evidence gaps for policymakers. We included 14 studies with respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular outcomes, foodborne disease and dengue. Absolute humidity (3 studies) and rainfall (2 studies) were positively associated with adverse health. Extreme heat (2 studies) was inversely associated with adverse health. The effects of mean ambient temperature and relative humidity on adverse health were inconsistent. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone were positively associated with adverse health. Climate variability and air quality may have disease-specific, differing directions of effect in Singapore. Additional high quality studies are required to strengthen the evidence for policymaking. Research on effective climate action advocacy and adaptation measures for community activities should be strengthened.
UNASSIGNED: There was no funding source for this study.

BACKGROUND: Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are disproportionately affected by air pollution and its health burden, representing a global inequity. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of unprecedented lockdown measures on air pollutant concentrations globally. We aim to quantify air pollutant concentration changes across LMIC settings as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
METHODS: Searches for this systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out across five databases on 30th March 2022; MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Transport Research Information Documentation. Modelling and observational studies were included, as long as the estimates reflected city or town level data and were taken exclusively in pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Mean percentage changes per pollutant were calculated and meta-analyses were carried out to calculate mean difference in measured ground-level observed concentrations for each pollutant (PROSPERO CRD42022326924).
RESULTS: Of the 2982 manuscripts from initial searches, 256 manuscripts were included providing 3818 percentage changes of all pollutants. No studies included any countries from Sub-Saharan Africa and 34 % and 39.4 % of studies were from China and India, respectively. There was a mean percentage change of -37.4 %, -21.7 %, -54.6 %, -39.1 %, -48.9 %, 16.9 %, -34.9 %, -30.6 % and - 14.7 % for black carbon (BC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone (O3), particulate matter 10 (PM10) and 2.5 (PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide (SO2), respectively. Meta-analysis included 100 manuscripts, providing 908 mean concentration differences, which showed significant reduction in mean concentration in all study settings for BC (-0.46 μg/m3, PI -0.85; -0.08), CO (-0.25 mg/m3, PI -0.44; -0.03), NO2 (-19.41 μg/m3, PI -31.14; -7.68) and NOx (-22.32 μg/m3, PI -40.94; -3.70).
CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis quantify and confirm the trends reported across the globe in air pollutant concentration, including increases in O3. Despite the majority of global urban growth occurring in LMIC, there are distinct geographical gaps in air pollution data and, where it is available, differing approaches to analysis and reporting.