The Integrated Transport Health Impact Model (ITHIM) is a mathematical model that integrates data on travel patterns, physical activity, fine particulate matter, GHG emissions, and disease and injuries based on population and travel scenarios. The model calculates the health impacts of walking and bicycling short distances usually traveled by car or driving low-emission automobiles.
The model was pioneered by Dr. James Woodcock at Cambridge University’s Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR). It has been used to evaluate the health benefits of transport-related technology and behaviors changes in the UK, and some cities in the United States (Bay Area and Nashville). Below are references and links to some of the scientific studies involving ITHIM.
UK and International
Woodcock, James, et al. “Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: urban land transport.” The Lancet 374.9705 (2009): 1930-1943.
Woodcock, James, Moshe Givoni, and Andrei Scott Morgan. “Health impact modelling of active travel visions for England and Wales using an Integrated Transport and Health Impact Modelling Tool (ITHIM).” PLoS One 8.1 (2013): e51462.
Woodcock, J., et al. “Health effects of the London bicycle sharing system: health impact modelling study.” BMJ 348 (2014): g425.
Woodcock, James, Robin Lovelace, and Marko Tainio. “A53 Cycling health and climate: what are the circumstances under which cycling can contribute to substantive greenhouse gas emission reductions and whose travel should be targeted to achieve the biggest health and climate benefits?.” Journal of Transport & Health 2.2 (2015): S32.
Götschi, Thomas, et al. “Contrasts in active transport behaviour across four countries: How do they translate into public health benefits?.” Preventive medicine 74 (2015): 42-48.
Tainio, Marko, et al. “Can air pollution negate the health benefits of cycling and walking?.” Preventive Medicine 87 (2016): 233-236.
de Sá, Thiago Hérick, Diana C. Parra, and Carlos Augusto Monteiro. “Impact of travel mode shift and trip distance on active and non-active transportation in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area in Brazil.” Preventive medicine reports 2 (2015): 183-188.
United States
Maizlish, Neil, et al. “Health cobenefits and transportation-related reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the San Francisco Bay area.” American Journal of Public Health 103.4 (2013): 703-709.
Whitfield, Geoffrey P., et al. “The integrated transport and health impact modeling tool in Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Implementation steps and lessons learned.” Journal of Transport & Health (2016).
Maizlish, Neil, Nicholas J. Linesch, and James Woodcock. “Health and greenhouse gas mitigation benefits of ambitious expansion of cycling, walking, and transit in California.” Journal of Transport & Health (2017).