According to the World Health Organization (WHO), climate change is the biggest threat to human health, and air pollution is the leading environmental risk. In the UK, air pollution causes up to 43,000 deaths every year, and 1 in 4 people live in areas where pollution is more than twice the upper limit of the WHO limits – often in urban and deprived communities, disproportionately affecting Black and Asian communities.
Babies and children are especially vulnerable: they breathe faster, have smaller airways, and are closer to car exhaust levels — meaning they inhale more harmful pollutants.
We all have an important role in raising awareness and reducing the impact of air pollution.
iHV Resources
To help raise awareness of the impact of air pollution on health, particularly for babies and children under five-years-old, the iHV has developed a range of resources to support your practice.
✏️ Air pollution animation
A short animation for both professionals and families, which covers:
- what air pollution is
- its effect on the health of babies and children
- the difference between indoor and outdoor air pollution
- top tips to mitigate the effects of air pollution
🎙️ Podcast
Listen to engaging conversations and insights from specialists and practitioners across the health visiting landscape.
🔎 Project
If you would like to know more about the ‘Respiratory Health – “Our Air, My Lungs”’ project, please visit our project page where you will find more detail as well as the project report.
📖 iHV LEARN Programmes (free to access for iHV members):
This Toolkit has been designed by leading experts to equip health visiting practitioners in the promotion and assessment of motor development with a range of short videos and resources to support the early identification of atypical motor development/‘red flags’.
Respiratory Health Ambassadors Training
🏷️ Cost: From £180
🕒 Duration: 4 Hours
👥 Suitable for: Health Visitors and Skill Mix
External Resources
Created by the iHV in collaboration with Healthier Together: Air Pollution