Problem Statement

[salihakalender]

Problem Statement

Air pollution remains one of the leading environmental risk factors worldwide, strongly linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, stroke, and lung cancer, contributing to an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually (WHO, 2023; GBD, 2024). While urban air quality is commonly assessed using composite metrics like the Air Quality Index (AQI), such generalized measures often obscure the distinct health risks posed by specific pollutants, which vary significantly across cities and regions.

Key pollutants—including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ground-level ozone (O₃), and carbon monoxide (CO)—differ in their sources, chemical behaviors, and physiological impacts. These health consequences also vary across population groups and geographic contexts. Regional variations in pollutant sources—such as traffic congestion, industrial activity, or biomass burning—lead to distinct urban pollution profiles, each linked with unique patterns of disease burden.

This project seeks to answer the following research question:

How do respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes vary across global cities categorized by their dominant air pollutant?

This study introduces a novel framework that classifies global cities according to their dominant pollutants and examines how these pollution profiles correspond to regional patterns in respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes.

The aim is to fill this gap by identifying dominant pollutant profiles worldwide and analyzing how these align with regional health burdens, thereby informing more targeted and pollutant-specific policy interventions.

[linahKhayri]

Hey Saliha,
Thanks so much for drafting the problem statement! You’re doing amazing work as always 🙌💖

From my understanding and based on what Carlos and Megan emphasized in the session, our problem statement is the less formal and technical stage, and more user-centered and personally grounded. The goal is to frame the problem through the lens of human experience, showing why this issue matters on a personal level as a starting point and from which we then develop and shape our research question.

[FalaqMajeed]

Thank you, Saliha, for your great effort it really shows!
I also agree with what Linah mentioned I think the problem statement should ideally highlight the user, need, and insights or constraints.

Here’s a suggestion for a revised problem statement, inspired by a personal story Linah once shared that really moved me:

One of our group members shared a personal story: her mother, who has asthma, experiences severe discomfort when staying in cities with poor air quality. Even short visits can mean weeks of relying on medications, constant coughing, and the simple wish to breathe without pain. For her and millions with similar and different health conditions clean air isn’t just a preference, it’s a necessity. But how feasible is it to find cities where the air is truly safe for vulnerable individuals?

What do you all think?

[salihakalender]

@linahKhayri @FalaqMajeed Thank you for your kind words — we're definitely doing great work together as a team.
You're absolutely right, and I really appreciate the point you raised. I’ll revise it accordingly.
Actually, I initially drafted something more personal, but my academic background didn’t quite let me stick with that — so it turned into a more formal write-up 🙈

[salihakalender]

Problem Statement

One of our group members shared a personal story: her mother, who has asthma, experiences severe discomfort when staying in cities with poor air quality. Even short visits can mean weeks of relying on medications, constant coughing, and the simple wish to breathe without pain. For her and millions with similar and different health conditions, clean air isn’t just a preference—it’s a necessity. But how feasible is it to find cities where the air is truly safe for vulnerable individuals?

This personal story reflects a broader public health challenge. Air pollution is one of the leading environmental threats to human health, contributing to an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually due to its links with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, stroke, and lung cancer (WHO, 2023; GBD, 2024). Yet widely used metrics like the Air Quality Index (AQI) often mask the specific health risks posed by individual pollutants, which vary across cities and regions.

This project seeks to answer the following research question:

How do respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes in 2024 vary across global cities categorized by their dominant air pollutant?

This study introduces a novel framework that classifies global cities according to their dominant pollutants and examines how these pollution profiles correspond to regional patterns in respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes.

The aim is to fill this gap by identifying dominant pollutant profiles worldwide and analyzing how these align with regional health burdens, thereby informing more targeted and pollutant-specific policy interventions.

[FalaqMajeed]

Yes, this is better go ahead in adding it in the file of the domain study folder

[salihakalender]

Updated problem statement according to the final project version.

Problem Statement

One of our group members shared a personal story:

Her mother, who has asthma, experiences severe discomfort when staying in cities with poor air quality. Even short visits can mean weeks of relying on medications, constant coughing, and the simple wish to breathe without pain. For her and millions with similar and different health conditions, clean air isn’t just a preference—it’s a necessity. But how feasible is it to find cities where the air is truly safe for vulnerable individuals?

This personal story reflects a broader public health challenge. Air pollution is one of the leading environmental threats to human health, contributing to an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually due to its links with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, stroke, and lung cancer (WHO, 2023; GBD, 2024).

This project seeks to answer the following research question:

To what extent have ambient PM₂.₅ concentrations (2010–2019) influenced the burden of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases across countries with varying socio-demographic development levels, and how might this long-term exposure relate to COVID-19 mortality outcomes?

In this project, we study how long-term air pollution—especially PM2.5—affects respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes across 25 diverse countries representing different regions and development levels. Using country-level PM2.5 concentration data alongside the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) respiratory and cardiovascular disease burden data, we analyze trends over the past decade to understand how prolonged exposure influences health.

Our approach also considers lag effects of pollution exposure, socioeconomic factors measured by the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), and potential links between pollution levels and COVID-19 mortality rates. By identifying patterns across countries, this study aims to generate clear, actionable insights to support more targeted and effective public health policies focused on reducing pollution-related health risks globally.