Our colleagues working on the Horizon 2020 funded Blue Health project have published a protocol detailing the aims and methods of the project.

The Blue Health project is led by Professor Lora Fleming and brings together a multi-disciplinary consortium to investigate how aquatic environments affect the health of Europe’s population.

The research aims to understand the relationships between exposure to blue space and health and well-being, to map and quantify the public health impacts of changes to both natural blue spaces and associated urban infrastructure in Europe, and to provide evidence-based information to policymakers on how to maximise health benefits associated with interventions in and around aquatic environments.

The project uses a variety of novel tools and methods to evaluate the changing characteristics and states of blue spaces associated with interventions made to urban infrastructure as well as with climate and other environmental change.

Grellier, J., M. P. White, M. Albin, S. Bell, L. R. Elliott, M. Gascón, S. Gualdi, L. Mancini, M. J. Nieuwenhuijsen, D. A. Sarigiannis, M. van den Bosch, T. Wolf, S. Wuijts and L. E. Fleming (2017). “BlueHealth: a study programme protocol for mapping and quantifying the potential benefits to public health and well-being from Europe’s blue spaces.” BMJ Open 7(6).