Research and analysis

Environmental public health surveillance system (EPHSS)

Updated 26 May 2023

Environmental public health is concerned with:

• environmental hazards (all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, capable of causing harm)
• the environmental exposure to those hazards
• the possible resultant health outcomes (for example, asthma caused by air pollution)

Environmental public health tracking (EPHT) and environmental public health surveillance system (EPHSS)

For UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), EPHT is the use of public health information to support the management of environmental and other hazards. The specific role of EPHT is to collect, collate and analyse environmental health data to inform interventions to reduce the burden of disease.

In England, no integrated population-based surveillance currently exists that:

• incorporates routinely gathered data and information on different aspects of environmental hazards and exposures
• facilitates applying public health principles and measures to reduce harm based on evidence

UKHSA’s EPHSS receives regular data feeds from selected databases provided by partnering public sector agencies. This data is collated and integrated within the system to provide users a more complete picture.

This system helps us collect and collate environmental hazard and health outcome data.

EPHSS is one of UKHSA’s main surveillance projects. The system develops a comprehensive and systematic approach to identify, acquire, collate and analyse data intelligence and information on environmental hazards, exposures and health outcomes.

See Towards a Public Health Surveillance Strategy in England for more information on the UKHSA surveillance strategy vision.

Advantages of EPHSS

EPHSS makes evidence-based information on these environmental matters available to UKHSA directorates, other internal and external stakeholders, partners and collaborating organisations. The system ensures that we collect environmental data:

• only once
• on acute incidents as well as chronic exposures
• and make it available thereafter to those with UKHSA’s authorised access

Several ongoing programmes in UKHSA and elsewhere provide information on known chemical and environmental hazards to health. However, PHE and other public health bodies lack integrated population-based surveillance to connect information about different aspects of a hazard, and make it easy to apply public health principles, to implement measures to reduce harm.

This system is effective at measuring benefits of interventions that reduce the burden of disease against the costs of interventions. It will improve UKHSA’s ability to evaluate the health and cost benefits of its activities in addressing known chemical environmental hazards. This approach is an essential requirement of public health practice in an era of shrinking resources and increasing demand.

Although not usually funded by UKHSA, interventions in the housing, transport and energy sectors among others have recognised public health implications. We need to define and develop effective ways to evaluate and monitor interventions that potentially affect public health. EPHSS is well placed to support UKHSA and other stakeholders in addressing this need.

Surveillance data is maintained with updates on an agreed schedules with partner organisations, rather than using real-time data sources.

EPHSS users can:

• search and view the details of incidents reported by participating reporting agencies such as:
  • UKHSA
  • Local Government Association
  • local authorities
  • ambulance services
  • NHS
  • fire and rescue services
• view incidents reported by different agencies assembled by EPHSS; thus providing additional context, and valuable intelligence from a single source
• run pre-defined reports at any time
• share and view examples of successful interventions and share best practices
• share data and lessons learnt with stakeholder agencies
• access many types of data inputs and outputs from a single source
• improve their understanding of the burden of health impacts and outcomes from environmental, chemical and poison hazards and exposures, and trends thereof
• share information available from allied environment and health agencies
• work with partners to share new ideas

EPHSS will follow best practices in information governance, which includes data sharing agreements and protocols between organisations and with the individual system users.

Two phase development of EPHSS

The first phase includes a surveillance system for acute environmental incidents. This acute system links with existing incident management systems, such as CIRIS and HPZone, to report on the surveillance of the type and number of environmental health related incidents.

The second phase started with an initial consultation on designs and user needs. It extends the acute incident surveillance system to include:

• chronic events and exposures
• wider environmental, exposure and health datasets

This phase helps to explore links between environmental exposures and health outcomes. Two topics were prioritised by stakeholders for surveillance data and intelligence needs.

• air pollution exposure surveillance: building indicators for intelligence on air pollution exposure
• weather data for public health surveillance: providing better access to meteorological data for public health in conjunction with the Met Office

For more information on developing EPHSS, contact the project team: epht@phe.gov.uk

Recent activity and reports

Environmental Public Health Surveillance System (EPHSS) report for 2020 to 2021

Contact details

For more information on EPHT, contact the Environmental Epidemiology Group: epht@phe.gov.uk