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Rapid Review: What is the evidence for the effectiveness of public health interventions, and their potential unintended consequences, to reduce the direct and indirect health impacts of exposure to wildfires, including wildfire smoke and combined heat-wildfire smoke events?

There is limited evidence evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions on reducing impacts of exposure to wildfires and their smoke: air cleaning systems likely improve indoor air quality during wildfire events, but there is some evidence of harmful impacts of executing evacuation orders and staying indoors.


Citation:

National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools & National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health. (2023, October 31). Rapid Review: What is the effectiveness of public health interventions on reducing the direct and indirect health impacts of wildfires? https://nccmt.ca/pdfs/res/wildfires.

Public health topic area:

Public Health

Review question:
Population
Public health units, Policy makers (all levels), Decision makers (all levels), Communities
Intervention
Interventions to mitigate the effects of wildfires, wildfire smoke, and combined heat-wildfire smoke events on the community Interventions include both policies for mitigating effects and provision of protective items, including, but not limited to: providing filtration devices and masks, establishing cleaner air shelters, recommending reduced time spent outdoors, surveillance of wildfires, smoke and/or poor air quality, issuing evacuation orders.
Comparisons
N/A
Outcomes
Direct (e.g., respiratory, cardiovascular, burns, mental health, etc.) or indirect (e.g., environmental, economic, etc.) health impacts
Search Updated:

Jul 27, 2023

Review Completed:

Oct 31, 2023