SAHSU Environment and Health Research Coffee Morning
We were delighted to welcome members of our local community to the SAHSU Environment and Health Research Coffee Morning in March 2026, and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to join us. You can read the presentation slides from the event here. We will publish a short series of blogs sharing reflections from the conversations we had together.
Blog 1 – How do we use health data in our research?
, Clinical Associate Professor
At the coffee morning, I hosted a café table to talk in more detail about how we do our research. Our group, SAHSU (the UK Small Area Health Statistics Unit), studies how our environment influences our health. We talked about what we mean by the word “environment” and we discussed the “Rainbow” diagram that shows the many layers of factors that can influence our health. We have a particular interest in industrial activities and pollution, but we study all aspects of our environments including social factors, such as deprivation, structural factors such as government policies, and environmental factors like climate change.
We use a type of science called “epidemiology”. We use data and statistics to describe patterns of diseases within communities. We look at “who”, “when”, and “where” diseases occur, to try to understand “how” and “why” there are differences in health between groups of people.
To do our research we use health data from the population of Great Britain, mostly England. We are closely monitored by oversight bodies, including the NHS Research Ethics Committee, to ensure that the public can trust us to use their health data legally, confidentially, securely and for the public good. It’s important that people can talk to us about how we use health data in our research. We talked about the type of health information we use in our research. We mostly use coded information from the NHS about hospital admissions, care received in emergency departments (A&Es), and cases of cancer. We also use information about births and deaths from the Office for National Statistics.
At our coffee morning last year, we explained to the participants that we would like to use different health information about maternity services and mental health services in our research. The participants did not raise any concerns, and we have now been given approval by our oversight bodies to use these data. We are currently waiting to receive these data from the NHS.
I do think your research on prescription usage will be very important
I asked the community members at our table how they would feel about us applying to use information about medications prescribed in primary care in our research. I was asked why we want to use this information and I explained that this would tell us more about health conditions that are treated in primary care and do not always lead to hospital admissions. The people I spoke to were supportive of our plans.
I was challenged to improve how we share our newsletter so that people without access to emails can see it, and I will look into how we can do this. I also heard that people would like to hear more about how our studies have progressed in between events, and I agreed that we would focus on this at our next event.
Thank you to all the people who attended our coffee morning and took the time to speak with us all. We will hold another event later this year, and thanks to your valuable feedback, we will share our progress with you and how your insights have shaped our work.
Blog 2 – Oesophageal cancer in England: what we’re learning and why it matters
, Senior Research Fellow; Nefeli Taravira, PhD student; , Research Assistant
Cancer Screening and Prevention Research Group (CSPRG)
At our recent SAHSU Coffee Morning, we had the chance to talk to local residents about our research into oesophageal cancer. Although it isn’t one of the most common cancers, more than 9,000 people in England are diagnosed each year, and many cases are picked up late because symptoms like long-term reflux (or gastroesophageal reflux disorder – GORD) are often ignored or misunderstood. Our work looks at how risk varies across communities, including the role of lifestyle, underlying health conditions, environmental exposures such as air pollution, and how these patterns differ across England.
Throughout the morning, we spoke with several women from the local area. While none had personal experience of oesophageal cancer, all had been touched by cancer in their families or communities and were keen to learn more. What came through very strongly was a shared concern about air quality and constant construction in White City. These conversations reflected a wider frustration about how the environment around them is changing, and whether those changes might influence long-term health.
People were also genuinely surprised by some of the risk factors. Many had never heard that regularly drinking very hot drinks can raise risk of oesophageal cancer, or that persistent reflux should never be ignored. Several spoke about the ease of using over-the-counter reflux medications and how this might delay people seeking help. We also heard about everyday barriers that make “healthy living” more complex than it sounds – the cost of fresh food, a lack of green space, and local environments that don’t always support active lifestyles.
There was a focus on how we use health record data to understand these patterns. Once we explained how health data – including Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) - helps us explore exposures more accurately, people were reassuringly supportive. Confidentiality was important to them, but so was making meaningful use of information that could help uncover hidden risks in the local communities. Many felt this level of detail was essential for addressing the environmental concerns they experience day to day.
For us as researchers, the morning was a valuable reminder of why public conversations matter. Hearing people describe symptoms in their own words, what confuses them, and what worries them gives us context that we simply cannot get from datasets alone. It also reminded us how important it is to communicate clearly while avoiding oversimplification. Using both medical and everyday terms together worked well, keeping the explanations accessible without being patronising. Some questions, particularly around vaping, were challenging because evidence is still emerging, but we discussed these limitations openly.
Looking ahead, we hope to return to future SAHSU coffee mornings to share early findings and continue learning from the community. We would love to co-create resources on symptoms and early detection and explore new engagement ideas such as hands-on mapping activities or themed sessions on environment and cancer risk. The discussions reminded us that meaningful research is shaped not only by data but by the people living the realities behind those data – and that the best insights often start with a cup of coffee and an honest conversation.
Blog 3 – Lung Cancer and Environment
As part of the SAHSU Environment and Health Coffee Morning on 19 March 2026, discussion groups explored how research on lung cancer and the environment can be communicated more clearly to the public. The conversations focused on how to present risk in ways that are accessible, engaging and not overly technical.
Participants emphasised that maps showing lung cancer risk should avoid misleading colour scales and should clearly highlight locations such as the Midlands, London and other areas, with latitude and longitude where helpful. They felt that more eye-catching titles and simple explanations would make the findings easier for the public to understand.
There was strong interest in how living environments may affect cancer risk. People raised concerns about traffic, lifestyle, air pollution, microplastics and hazardous landfill waste. Many also described London as a particularly polluted city. One attendee asked whether vaping may be carcinogenic, showing the wider public interest in emerging risks.
Participants also highlighted the important role of GPs in helping explain findings, especially if research identifies areas with unexpectedly high cancer risk that cannot easily be explained by known environmental exposures.
Blog 4 – National Data Hub for Environmental Health Research
At the SAHSU Research Coffee Morning in March 2026, Dr Daniela Fecht shared our plans to develop a National Data Hub for Environmental Health Research.
We are developing the National Data Hub for Environmental Health Research to reduce the barriers for people who want to study the role of the environment on health. This Data Hub will provide open access to environmental data on air pollution, local parks and other environmental factors. The information in the Hub will describe the whole country and there will be new information each year. We are using the latest developments in environmental modelling and emerging open data sources to model these environmental factors for each postcode in the country. We are currently in the developing stage where we identify our priorities.
During the coffee morning, Daniela hosted two 25-minute table discussions with a small group of members of the public, representing a mix of ages and genders. Daniela wanted to understand if this type of data would be of interest to the public, for example, to explore what the environment is like where they live. She also wanted to explore if attendees have any concerns that others would be able to access information on the environment in their local area.
These questions were woven into the emerging conversation with allowed for a good flow throughout. Participants were very engaged and interested and asked many well-informed questions about SAHSU’s broader research area and the national data hub, in particular.
There was a general agreement that this type of data which gives information on the state of the environment at their address would be very relevant, and they would be very interested in learning more about the environment they live in. The conversation then shifted towards how people will access this information and there was a very informed discussion on where such data would be hosted, how people would learn about its existence and in which format it should be provided. Participants expressed a preference for maps as these would be very helpful for their community work. The example of flood maps was mentioned and how this would help identifying suitable spots for rain gardens in their community.
The second question dealt with geoprivacy, and any concerns participants might have about the amount of information that would be openly available on their immediate surroundings. Daniela discussed the potential privacy issues that too much environmental information could make addressed identifiable. None of the attendees saw any cause for concerns in this and this was very quickly dismissed by all attendees as not relevant to them. The consensus was that there is a lot of information on them out there already, for example from Google, mobile phones or social media. They fully trusted the processes in place to keep their data save and clearly saw the need for using such data for research purposes. The consensus was that attendees trusted Imperial researchers more than other actors that have potentially access to their data.
For Daniela it was very reassuring to learn that our plans for a Nation Data Hub for Environmental Health Research were very well received by the public, that they clearly saw a need for such a data hub and the benefits this would bring to other researchers, local authorities and the public.