Wellbeing Impact Study of HS2 (WISH2)

RESEARCH QUESTION:Do individuals and communities exposed to the High-Speed Rail 2 development (HS2) a large national transport infrastructure project experience positive or negative mental health and wellbeing (MHW) impacts.BACKGROUND: The need to study Phase 2 of HS2 was identified by the House of Commons Select Committee driven by petitioners’ concerns about the impact of HS2 on their MHW the lack of evidence on the topic and the need for community support to mitigate any negative impacts.

Most research on transport infrastructure has not considered MHW separate from physical health or the impact of pre-operational stages (e.g. planning construction).

With a stronger evidence base public health interventions could be developed to mitigate negative or enhance positive MHW impacts. This study will address this evidence gap.

AIMS: This project has 4 aims: (i) identify positive or negative MHW impacts of HS2; (ii) determine if impacts change over time and what drives them; (iii) investigate whether MHW impacts are experienced differently across population groups or affect health inequalities or social inclusion; (iv) determine whether any MHW impacts affect the economic case for HS2.DESIGN & METHODS: We will look at how HS2 may affect MHW over time from initial planning through construction phases to operation (HS2 timeline permitting) using a longitudinal mixed-methods approach incorporating: (i) general population survey on MHW social inclusion healthcare utilisation and any local changes due to HS2; (ii) focus groups and interviews with people who complete the survey and local stakeholders including healthcare providers mental health charities local government and public health authorities to explore issues raised in the survey; (iii) analysis of administrative data at the GP practice level on mental health deprivation housing air quality and environmental noise to explore change over time prior to the study and in a wider geographical area.

We will collect data in 3 waves that correspond to HS2 Phase 2 construction stages.

We will collect data from communities close to the HS2 Phase 2 route and matched control regions enabling us to use a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the impact of HS2 development on MHW.The research team will include 2 members of the public who will convene an advisory group of people from communities near HS2 to provide input on methodology interpretation of findings and dissemination of results.

TIMELINES FOR DELIVERY: The project will run for 10-years to facilitate investigating impacts of different phases of the HS2 development.

Interim findings will be delivered at 5-years after 2 waves of data collection.ANTICIPATED IMPACT AND DISSEMINATION: This study will contribute to the design and assessment of later phases of the HS2 scheme; the entire scheme is due for completion in 2035-40 making this study directly relevant for at least 20-years.

This will be the only controlled prospective study of the MHW impacts of transport infrastructure from planning to completion filling an evidence gap on HS2 and transport projects more broadly.

Study findings will support development of strategies to reduce negative impacts or enhance positive impacts on MHW which are also relevant to other infrastructure projects. Findings will be disseminated via academic papers conferences community workshops policy briefings and blogs/podcasts.