The National Centre for Prevention of Heat Health Effects is responsible for epidemiological monitoring and research. The researchers of the Centre have extensive experience in environmental epidemiology and statistical methodologies. They have conducted epidemiological research on a local and on a national level and have been participating in several European collaborative studies. Since 2003, the centre has been coordinating the activity of surveillance and prevention of heat related health effects on a national level; this activity includes the development and implementation of heat/health watch/warning systems (HHWWS), the identification of susceptible populations and the definition of prevention strategies to reduce the health impact of heat. Group members are epidemiologists, meteorologists and statisticians.

The Centre is involved in national and international projects on the effects of climate on health. They coordinate the EC funded project PHEWE (Assessment and prevention of acute health effects and weather conditions in Europe), a three-year pan-European collaboration between experts in the fields of epidemiology, meteorology, and public health and researchers from 17 cities, representing a wide range of climatic and socio-economic conditions. Furthermore, they participate in the EC funded project EUROHEAT (Improving Public Health Responses to Heat-Waves), in which they coordinate the work package on Health impact assessment of heat-waves. In recent years, researchers have been involved in the APHEA projects on the negative health effects of air pollution and the APHEIS network (now part of the ENHIS-1 project) for the creation of a European Information system on air pollution.

Paola Michelozzi , BSc, MSc, epidemiologist, and coordinator of the Centre. Over the last ten years she has led a team that has carried out epidemiologic studies on short-term and long-term effects of air pollution, studies on electromagnetic field exposure and cancer, small area studies on air pollution and cancer also in relation to residency in proximity of point sources of air pollution. Since 2002, the work performed within her group has been focusing on studies investigating the negative health effects of climate on health and on the development of early warning systems and prevention programmes. Other members of the group are Ursula Kirchmayer, MPH, epidemiologist; Gabriele Accetta , PhD, statistician; F rancesca de’Donato, MSc, meteorologist; Mariangela D’Ovidio , statistician; Manuela De Sario, BSc, biologist; Daniela D’Ippoliti, statistician.

DCP will be actively involved in WP 3.7 (Climate) and in WP 2.3 (Health Surveillance). Within WP 3.7, they will contribute to the assessment of adaptation to the health impacts of climate change, building upon the datasets and results of previous projects. Furthermore, their contribution will comprise the assessment of heatwave-related mortality, and the development of a simulation model to explore changes of heatwave-related mortality under different scenarios, including health impact assessment. Within WP 2.3, the centre will contribute to the development of surveillance systems, building upon their experience gathered in Italy.