This ENACT use case investigates how air and noise pollution influence acute respiratory illnesses in children living in urban environments.Conducted in two phases, the first (retrospective) phase will calibrate a uniform causality model linking air pollution and hospital admissions, supporting hospital preparedness and policymaking. The second (prospective) phase will use wearable devices and indoor/outdoor sensors to personalize treatment and self-management based on real-time pollution exposure and physiological data.
The prospective phase of the study will be conducted in Madrid and it will involve 1.000 to 2.000 voluntary paediatric patients diagnosed with pneumonia, asthma, or bronchiolitis. By integrating environmental exposure data, collected through multi-sensor networks across the city and wearables, with admission and discharge records from hospital settings, the study aims to validate an exposomic risk scoring system. This tool will help paediatricians and policymakers better predict, prevent, and manage environmentally induced respiratory events, supporting more efficient and patient-centred care.
In addition to creating a decision-support tool for clinicians, the project will develop a dashboard that visualizes key environmental and health indicators, linking pollution levels to patient outcomes. This will include real-time hospital data, physiological monitoring, and digital patient experience metrics (PREMs and PROMs), offering tailored insights for hospital staff and health authorities. The dashboard will serve as a foundation for evidence-based policy development, including cost-benefit analyses of interventions to mitigate pollution-related health risks in children. The goal is to improve clinical outcomes and reduce unnecessary hospitalizations through proactive, data-informed strategies.