Browsing by Author "Reynders, Hans"
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- Application of human biomonitoring data to support policy development, raise awareness and environmental public health protection among countries within the HBM4EU projectPublication . Ubong, Dorothy; Stewart, Lorraine; Sepai, Ovnair; Knudsen, Lisbeth E.; Berman, Tamar; Reynders, Hans; Van Campenhout, Karen; Katsonouri, Andromachi; Van Nieuwenhuyse, An; Ingelido, Anna Maria; Castaño, Argelia; Pedraza-Díaz, Susana; Eiríksdóttir, Ása Valgerður; Thomsen, Cathrine; Hartmann, Christina; Gjorgjev, Dragan; De Felip, Elena; Tolonen, Hanna; Santonen, Tiina; klanova, Jana; Norström, Karin; Kononenko, Lijana; Silva, Maria João; Uhl, Maria; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Apel, Petra; Jõemaa, Merli; Jajcaj, Michal; Estokova, Milada; Luijten, Mirjam; Lebret, Erik; von Goetz, Natalie; Holcer, Natasa Janev; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Cavaleiro, Rita; Barouki, Robert; Tarroja, Elena; Balčienė, Rosita Marija; Strumylaite, Loreta; Latvala, Siiri; Namorado, Sónia; Szigeti, Tamás; Ingi Halldorsson, Thorhallur; Olafsdottir, Kristin; Wasowicz, Wojciech; Viegas, Susana; Alvito, PaulaMost countries have acknowledged the importance of assessing and quantifying their population’s internal exposure from chemicals in air, water, soil, food and other consumer products due to the potential health and economic impact. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a valuable tool which can be used to quantify such exposures and effects. Results from HBM studies can also contribute to improving public health by providing evidence of individuals’ internal chemical exposure as well as data to understand the burden of disease and associated costs thereby stimulating the development and implementation of evidence-based policy. To have a holistic view on HBM data utilisation, a multi-case research approach was used to explore the use of HBM data to support national chemical regulations, protect public health and raise awareness among countries participating in the HBM4EU project. The Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) Initiative (https://www.hbm4eu.eu/) is a collaborative effort involving 30 countries, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission (contracting authority) to harmonise procedures across Europe and advance research into the understanding of the health impacts of environmental chemical exposure. One of the aims of the project was to use HBM data to support evidence based chemical policy and make this information timely and directly available for policy makers and all partners. The main data source for this article was the narratives collected from 27 countries within the HBM4EU project. The countries (self-selection) were grouped into 3 categories in terms of HBM data usage either for public awareness, policy support or for the establishment HBM programme. Narratives were analysed/summarised using guidelines and templates that focused on ministries involved in or advocating for HBM; steps required to engage policy makers; barriers, drivers and opportunities in developing a HBM programme. The narratives reported the use of HBM data either for raising awareness or addressing environmental/public health issues and policy development. The ministries of Health and Environment were reported to be the most prominent entities advocating for HBM, the involvement of several authorities/institutions in the national hubs was also cited to create an avenue to interact, discuss and gain the attention of policy makers. Participating in European projects and the general population interest in HBM studies were seen as drivers and opportunities in developing HBM programmes. A key barrier that was cited by countries for establishing and sustaining national HBM programmes was funding which is mainly due to the high costs associated with the collection and chemical analysis of human samples. Although challenges and barriers still exist, most countries within Europe were already conversant with the benefits and opportunities of HBM. This article offers important insights into factors associated with the utilisation of HBM data for policy support and public awareness.
- Consultation on a sustainable HBM initiative in Europe - Deliverable Report D6.3 WP6 Sustainability and Capacity building.Publication . Ganzleben, Catherine; Vicente, Joana Lobo; Barouki, Robert; Tarroja, Elena; Silva, Maria João; Isidro, Glória; Louro, Henriqueta; Katsonouri, Andromachi; Reynders, Hans; Campenhout, Karen Van; Mampaey, Maja; Sepai, Ovnair; Virgolino, AnaThis deliverable was produced under Task 6.3 of Work Package 6 on “Longer-term needs and expectations of stakeholders (2021-2030)”. The aim of this task was to gather information on the needs and expectations of both the National Hubs (NH) and a broad range of stakeholders regarding a long-term Human Biomonitoring (HBM) programme for Europe, to be establish in follow up to the current project, HBM4EU. Firstly and with a focus on options for financing a future initiative, information was collected on a range of available funding mechanisms at national, regional and international level. In terms of national funding, the results presented rely on responses to a survey with the NH. Unfortunately, the response from NHs was very limited, and as such the report only captures funding mechanisms from a limited number of countries, including Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and Cyprus. In order to gain insight into the status of the National Hubs and their capacities for HBM, a survey was conducted. The results provide an overview of the current situation across the NHs with regards to a range of aspects, including the level of activity of the NH, status of political support, availability of funding, ongoing HBM studies and willingness to align studies with HBM4EU. The results suggest that HBM4EU has raised the political profile of HBM in partner countries. Regarding ongoing HBM studies, only six countries have national HBM programmes, with most countries having only hot spot studies. Despite this, there was support for the alignment of studies to achieve European geographical coverage. Regarding funding, access to European funding is seen as important to leverage funds at national level. A second survey was targeted at a wide range of stakeholders, aiming to better understand their expectations for a long-term sustainable HBM initiative. The survey was followed by a workshop, where a more limited number of stakeholders had the opportunity to discuss the survey results and address such aspects as the scope of a future initiative, how to achieve financial sustainability, how to involve and how a future initiative might contribute to chemical policies. Concerning the needs and expectations of stakeholders, there is a strong interest in and support for a future HBM initiative at European level. The involvement of a European Union (EU) institution as part of a future steering committee was seen as crucial. According to this stakeholders’ consultation, the initiative should focus on protecting human health and the environment in Europe from hazardous chemical exposures by producing harmonised, high quality, transparent and inclusive data for effective risk assessment and management.
- HBM4EU - Deliverable Report D 6.2. Revised set of key indicatorsPublication . Reynders, Hans; Van Campenhout, Karen; Mampaey, Maja; Gilles, Liese; Colles, Ann; Baken, Kirsten; Bessems, Jos; Schoeters, Greet; Ay, Derya; Lobo Vicente, Joana; Ganzleben, Catherine; Isidro, Glória; Louro, Henriqueta; Silva, Maria João; Uhl, Maria; Ubong, Dorothy; Sepai, Ovnair; Tarroja, Elena; Persoz, Charles; Barouki, Robert; Kobosil, Nicole; David, Madlen; Appel, Petra; Kolossa, Marike; Coertjens, Dries; Crabbé, Ann; Loots, Ilse; Covaci, Adrian; Antignac, Jean-Philippe; Debrauwer, Laurent; Fernandez, Mariana; Berglund, Marika; Blaha, Ludek; Esteban López, Marta; Scheepers, Paul; Tolonen, Hanna; Nørager., SofieThe current deliverable describes the process of revision of the first list of indicators (published in June 2017 as D6.1.) and presents the indicator leaflets ((see attachment 1) that link key results of HBM4EU to the objectives of the project as laid down in the description of action. These indicator leaflets already contain a lot of results on the revised list of indicators, and give very valuable information on the progress of HBM4EU in relation to the specific goals of the project. Combining the information from these leaflets in the frame of expected impacts will allow us to put forward conclusions towards impact and sustainability of HBM4EU. As such, this restructured list answers to the main comments on the first list of indicators from the task 6.5 partners, the Management Board, the Governing Board and the EU Policy Board, in concretu to: • Drastically reduce the number of indicators from 48 indicators (including 9 internal indicators) on the first list to 28 indicators on the revised list without losing essential information. Moreover by bundling related indicators we now have 22 indicator leaflets (and 1 overview leaflet); • Make the relationship between the indicators and the goals of HBM4EU more clear by structuring the list of indicators according to the overarching objectives and specific goals; • Use the indicators to say something about the impact of the HBM4EU project: the indicator leaflets were used to give input for the impact section of the periodic technical reporting 2018 to describe the progress made for the 5 expected impacts of HBM4EU. This exercise will be continued and ameliorated in the 2019 periodic technical reporting as more indicator leaflets will be available compared to 2018; • Link the indicators with the work on sustainability of HBM in Europe: the indicators were presented at the sustainability workshop in Paris. Participants indicated that they think the leaflets will be useful for institutional discussions, national hub meetings, meetings with policy makers and other meetings and that they would like to use them as soon as they are available. The added value of having indicators of success, is to monitor the implementation and achieved impact of HBM4EU. This will allow for a more efficient tracking of achieved goals. This deliverable will help to further optimize and revise the first set of indicators to monitor the implementation of the HBM4EU and the achieved impact. The indicators of success are written in a clear language, they are concise and capture the main achievements in the list of indicators that has been agreed amongst the partners. Therefore, they can be easily used by all partners across the consortium, the EU Policy Board and our HBM4EU ambassador Thomas Jackl.
- Performance and impact of HBM4EU, how to evaluate?Publication . Reynders, Hans; Campenhout, Karen Van; Louro, Henriqueta; Silva, Maria João; Isidro, Glória; Colles, AnnHBM4EU is a joint effort of 28 countries, the European Environment Agency and the European Commission, co-funded under Horizon 2020. The initiative is coordinating and advancing human biomonitoring in Europe. HBM4EU is generating evidence of the actual exposure of citizens to chemicals and the possible health effects in order to support policy making. The HBM4EU initiative represents a novel collaboration between scientists and chemical risk assessors and risk managers, including several Commission services, EU agencies and representatives for the national level. The project is building bridges between the research and policy worlds in order to deliver benefits to society in terms of enhanced chemical safety.
- Revised report on national needs, objectives of a long-term HBM4EU inventory of funding mechanisms and recommendations for a sustainable HBM initiative in Europe and its organisationPublication . Vicente, Joana Lobo; Katsonouri, Andromachi; Reynders, Hans; Van Campenhout, Karen; Mampaey, Maja; Tarroja, Elena; Louro, Henriqueta; Isidro, Glória; Silva, Maria João; Namorado, Sónia; Bourqui, Martine; von Goetz, Natalie; Virgolino, Ana; Sepai, Ovnair; Hopson, AmyThis report aims to provide a revision on the national needs (T6.1), the funding mechanisms (T6.2) and the long-term sustainability of HBM4EU (T6.3). Therefore, this report is divided in the three above-mentioned sections, for which the different tasks within work package 6 (WP 6) provided input. Concerning national needs, a survey is conducted annually by the national hub (NH) coordinator to monitor and evaluate the progress and development of all National Hubs involved in HBM4EU. With 2020 being the fourth year of the HBM4EU project, the survey followed many of the questions of previous years. Most NHs are satisfied with their current HBM4EU involvement, but have expressed their concerns regarding the communication, funding and lack of direct involvement. The follow-up to HBM4EU, PARC, was mentioned and the necessary involvement of all countries as well as the importance of communication between NHs and National Hub Contact Points (NHCPs) was highlighted. Inclusivity of smaller countries seems to be a problem through both lack of funding and adequate tasks. Regarding funding mechanisms, the initial list of financing mechanisms in the HBM and environmental health area at national and international level was updated and is available on the HBM4EU website under the “Funding Opportunities” tab. This intends to be an inventory that can be used not only by the HBM4EU consortium but by the entire scientific community to provide an overview of existing funding sources. It comprises of a set of targeted strategies for identification and dissemination of funding which are explained in further detail in section 6 Funding mechanisms. A systematic literature review was also undertaken to understand what the primary funding source of projects in HBM was. The results are not available yet. As part of T6.3 on the long-term sustainability, a citizen survey was developed together with T4.1 – mapping of needs. This survey was initially used for focus groups to better understand their awareness and concerns of chemical exposure and Human Biomonitoring. It was updated to harvest more EU-wide results including chemical exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey took place between September 2020 and February 2021 and the results were organised to cover the same regions as the aligned studies to allow for the organisation of results in a similar way for coherence. In order to produce a short report summarising the outcome of the survey, the questions were grouped for quicker analysis. The majority of the respondents considers HBM a tool that produces important results on human exposure to chemicals and that it should be performed more often and in a more coordinated way. This was a non-representative survey and future work should focus on wider dissemination in other population groups and on understanding how perceptions change over time. The survey’s answers were also distributed to the NHs, so they can produce internal communication briefs on their own data for further dissemination.
- The value of Human Biomonitoring to assess chemical exposure and support policies: perceptions of the European populationPublication . Namorado, Sónia; Katsonour, Andromachi; Reynders, Hans; Mampaey, Maja; Tarroja, Elena; Barouki, Robert; Louro, Henriqueta; Isidro, Glória; Silva, Maria João; Bourqui, Martine; Von Goetz, Natalie; Sepai, Ovnair; Lobo Vicente, JoanaBACKGROUND AND AIM:The development of Human Biomonitoring (HBM) surveys is highly dependent on the cooperation and engagement of the individuals being sampled. As such, in the context of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) an online citizen survey was conducted in Europe to gain insights into the perceptions of the population about HBM and exposure to chemicals. METHODS:The survey was undertaken between September 2020 and February 2021 and was available in the languages of all 30 HBM4EU-participating countries (EU, associated countries, Israel) through the HBM4EU website. Dissemination was done by the HBM4EU country representatives (National Hub Contact Points). RESULTS:Responses were received from 5391 participants. Around half were 35-54 years old and the majority were female, with higher education and employed. Concerning the perception of the respondents on HBM, the majority considers it should be done (81.7%), even if the chemicals are considered well managed. Most participants consider it a reliable method (84.0%) that should be performed more often (87.3%) and be more coordinated either at a European (86.2%) or at a national level (83.7%). The large majority of the respondents thinks that HBM results are important to evaluate the chemical exposure of the population (96.2%), to study the health impact of chemical exposure (96.3%) and to support the development of health policies (94.9%). The respondents also consider HBM results highly relevant to raise awareness and promote understanding of the impact of chemical exposure amongst the general population (94.3%), health professionals and policy makers. CONCLUSIONS:The use of HBM as a tool to assess human exposure to chemicals, allowing its management and health protection, was well perceived by respondents across Europe. Furthermore, the need for more studies conducted in a coordinated way was indicated. Future work should comprise population groups less represented here and should also attempt to understand how perceptions change over time.