Workshop: Global, Regional, or Local ERF Exposure–Response Functions in Health Impact Assessments

Date: 18 September 2026 | Location: Online

The EU-funded UBDpolicy project is organising an online workshop on 18 September, from 13:00 to 17:00 CEST, to discuss how to select exposure–response functions (ERFs) at global, regional, and local scales in health impact assessment (HIA), integrating methodological evidence with policy needs.

ERFs are a core component of HIAs, yet their application across different spatial scales remains inconsistent and insufficiently discussed. This workshop will bring together experts to discuss methodological approaches, empirical evidence, and policy considerations for selecting ERFs for environmental exposures such as air pollution and temperature. The goal is to move toward practical guidance for choosing appropriate ERFs in different decision-making contexts.

If you would like to attend the event, please register here.

Organizers: Xuan Chen, Gerard Hoek, Ulrike Gehring (Utrecht University) on behalf of the UBDpolicy project team.

Key questions

• How should ERFs be selected for different policy contexts, such as city-level interventions, national regulations, or global burden assessments? What approaches can be used when local or regional evidence is limited?
• Under which conditions are global ERFs sufficient, and when are regional or local estimates more appropriate? How should differences in population characteristics, exposure composition, and local conditions be accounted for in ERF selection?

Programme Sections

Section 1: Background and Framing the Core Question

13:00-13:10 Opening and Introduction (5-10 mins) Speaker: Ulrike Gehring

13:10–13:35 Introduction to Global vs Regional ERFs (15 mins presentation followed by 10 mins discussion) Speaker: Francesco Forastiere

Section 2: ERFs for Short-Term Exposure

13:35–14:00 Temperature and Methodological Advances (15 mins presentation followed by 10 mins discussion)
Speaker: Pierre Masselot

Section 3: ERFs for Long-Term Exposure

14:00–14:25 Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure – Current Evidence (15 mins presentation followed by 10 mins discussion)
Speaker: Evi Samoli

Section 4: Source-Specific Exposure, Local Perspectives, Heterogeneity and Policy Application

14:25–14:50 Traffic-Related Air Pollution (15 mins presentation followed by 10 mins discussion)
Speaker: Hanna Boogaard

14:50-15:00 Coffee Break

15:00–15:25 Heterogeneity in Exposure–Response Functions (15 mins presentation followed by 10 mins discussion)
Speaker: Duncan Lee

15:25–15:50 Policy Perspective – European HIA (15 mins presentation followed by 10 mins discussion)
Speaker: Barbara Hoffmann

15:50–16:20 General Discussion All speakers and participants

16:20–16:30 Closing remarks Speaker: Gerard Hoek