UrbanTide is taking part in a pioneering new study that will link energy data with healthcare data for the very first time. 

The study – titled ‘Energy poverty: How does the home influence the risk and recovery of childhood respiratory infections?’ – will explore the link between fuel poverty and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) amongst children on the East Coast of Scotland. 

Using linked data, the study’s aim is to understand how rising energy prices are impacting children’s health and increasing pressure on the national health service. It will also aim to provide recommendations that will help the UK government tackle the problem as efficiently and effectively as possible.

UrbanTide’s uZero will provide all fuel poverty-related data for the project, while Data Loch will provide healthcare data of patients across NHS Lothian. All data used in the study will be fully anonymised.

With energy poverty on the rise and the NHS in crisis, this study will provide invaluable data insight that could be used to make impactful change to healthcare policy during what is a highly critical time for the UK. 

Understanding the link between ARIs and fuel poverty 

As a result of energy prices soaring in 2022 and the ensuing cost of living crisis, as much as 1 in 4 UK households are now estimated to have fallen into fuel poverty. The UK also has some of the worst-insulated housing in Western Europe, making cold and damp conditions prolific.

ARIs (including asthma) are the most common reason for infant hospital admissions in the UK and these conditions are directly associated with cold and damp housing. Therefore, it’s possible that health problems amongst children could be substantially reduced by focusing on interventions that tackle energy poverty. 

Targeting energy-efficiency interventions at families who need them most will reduce ARIs, improve child health and reduce presentations to GPs and hospitals.

uZero: Fuel poverty data you can trust

As a powerful AI and energy data insights platform, uZero maps, identifies and predicts fuel poverty. By integrating anonymised smart metre data with other cross-sector datasets, uZero is able to provide unique fuel poverty data intelligence that can be used by government to make informed changes to public policy.

The anonymised fuel poverty data that uZero provides can be linked up with healthcare data obtained through Data Loch by postcode to bring healthcare and energy poverty information together for the first time.