The time is right to attract new public health workers with evidence-based job descriptions and eye-catching job postings AND $$$$$$$$$$$$

Peer-Reviewed Publication

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

July 5, 2023-- Health departments have a historic opportunity to bolster their workforce due to new funding but often do not have accurate or updated job descriptions or short, attention-grabbing job postings to use as marketing tools for recruitment. New research by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health will help lead to evidence-based job descriptions and postings that health departments can now use.

The study is the first attempt to compile existing occupation-specific job task analyses, lists of competencies, and certifications across multiple job types within governmental public health that can allow comparisons of skills, competencies, and job tasks between different public health occupations. The findings are published online in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

“Our aim was to review job descriptions and postings to ensure they would serve as attractive recruitment marketing tools that follow best practices and avoid implicit bias in the language used,” said Heather Krasna, PhD, EdM, associate dean, Career and Professional Development, Columbia Mailman School.  “Clear job postings with specific, concrete job requirements are more likely to generate targeted, qualified applicants and can be an important part of attracting a diverse candidate pool.”

Utilizing $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan funding for workforce development in the public health workforce to mount a large-scale recruitment effort—especially one large enough to begin to replenish the depleted governmental public health workforce -- new and creative methods could help attract job candidates. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health workforce had experienced challenges with attracting and retaining workers, partly due to competition from other sectors and perhaps due to complexities caused by civil service hiring, lower salaries, and slow hiring processes.

Employers need internally facing job descriptions, detailed documents that provide guidance to new hires and can serve as a rubric for performance reviews to effectively recruit new talent, noted the researchers. “But they also need job postings that are shorter, externally facing documents and optimized for Internet search engines,” observed Krasna.

To create the job descriptions, Krasna and colleagues conducted a literature review, interviewed public health leaders and recruitment specialists, reviewed existing resources, searched the gray literature for existing job task analyses, and reviewed and synthesized hundreds of recent job postings using both current job boards and a large-scale database of job postings. They also utilized the 2014 National Board of Public Health Examiners’ job task analysis data, information from the US Department of Labor’s O*Net Online resource, and existing occupation-specific job task analyses or certification information.  They synthesized the information to create position descriptions for 24 jobs common in governmental public health settings.

To ensure the descriptions were accurate, they then gathered feedback from current public health professionals in each field and finally engaged a recruitment marketing expert to change the job descriptions into advertisements.

“Although job titles may not presently be well standardized, we believe that gathering data on job descriptions could also help the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics to better standardize and track public health occupations,” said Krasna.

Co-authors are Phoebe Kulik, University of Michigan School of Public Health; Harshada Karnik, and Jonathon Leider, University of Minnesota.

The project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services, grant UB6HP31684 Public Health Training Centers.

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the fourth largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its nearly 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change and health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with more than 1,300 graduate students from 55 nations pursuing a variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit www.publichealth.columbia.edu

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JOURNAL

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

DOI

10.1097/PHH.0000000000001776 

ARTICLE TITLE

PRACTICE FULL REPORT Recruiting New Talent for Public Health Jobs With Evidence-Based Job Descriptions and Attractive Job Postings

Know your audience: Why data communication needs to pay attention to novice users

Prizewinning computer scientists at UMass Amherst find that data visualizations researchers have no clear idea of what makes someone a novice

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

 

IMAGE: DATA VISUALIZATION CAN BE A POWERFUL TOOL IF THE INTENDED AUDIENCE IS DATA LITERATE. view more 

CREDIT: UMASS AMHERST

AMHERST, Mass. – Computer scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently found that data-visualization experts have no agreed-upon understanding of who makes up one of their largest audiences—novice users. The work, which recently won a coveted Best Paper Award at the Association for Computing Machinery’s conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI), is an important first step in ensuring more inclusive data visualizations, and thus data visualization that works for all users.

Data visualization is the representation of data in a visual and easily understandable way using common graphics such as charts, plots, infographics and animations. Using visual elements provides an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers and patterns in data. One of the most familiar data visualizations—the pie chart—is legible to nearly everyone and has been a method used to quickly convey information since its invention in the early nineteenth century.

But, with the advent of the internet, the range, reach and complexity of such visualizations have grown exponentially. Think of the various online COVID trackers, graphics showing economic projections or the outcomes of national elections. “More and more, everyday people are relying on data visualizations to make decisions about their lives,” says Narges Mayhar, assistant professor in the Manning College of Information and Computer Science at UMass Amherst, and the paper’s senior author. “Even many of our collective decisions rest on data visualizations.”

Since a visualization’s use is dependent on its intelligibility, one would think that data visualization experts would have a clear and standard understanding of their audience, particularly their non-expert users. And yet, “despite many decades of data-visualization research, we had no clear notion of what makes someone a ‘novice,’” says Mayhar. This insight was important enough that the ACM CHI, the premier international conference for human-computer interaction, bestowed the Best Paper Award on the research, an honor reserved for the top 1% of submitted papers.

Mayhar, lead author Alyxander Burns, who completed the research as part of his graduate studies at UMass Amherst, and their co-authors combed through the past 30 years of visualization research and found 79 papers spread across seven academic journals that concerned themselves with identifying the audience for data visualizations. Within those 79 papers, they found that the definitions of a novice user ranged widely, from people who have difficulty “effectively utilizing GPU clusters” to those who lack knowledge of “ontological models.” Moreover, the team found that most researchers’ sample groups of users overwhelmingly skewed toward white, college-aged people living in the U.S.

“How do we know that the visualizations we create could work for older people, for those without college degrees, for people living in one of the world’s many other countries?” asks Mayhar. “We need to be clear, as a field, what we mean when we say ‘novice,’ and the goal of this paper is to change the way that visualization researchers think about novices, address their needs and design tools that work for everyone.”

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DOI

10.1145/3544548.3581524 

ARTICLE TITLE

Who Do We Mean When We Talk About Visualization Novices?

Professor spreads the gospel of ‘good fire’ through eco-cultural lens

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

 

IMAGE: MELINDA ADAMS USES A DRIP TORCH TO LEAD A CULTURAL BURN AT THE KU FIELD STATION. view more 

CREDIT: JOEY ORR, ANDREW W. MELLON CURATOR FOR RESEARCH, SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART, KU

LAWRENCE – A pyromaniac is someone unhealthily obsessed with the destructive power of fire. Melinda Adams instead is pulled toward the term pyromantic – a lover of “good fire” for the benefits it can bring to people, communities and the environment as a whole.

The Langston Hughes Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies and Geography & Atmospheric Science at the University of Kansas, Adams extols the benefits of cultural or ceremonial fire in a new paper she has co-authored in the journal Ecopsychology.

Adams collaborated on the paper titled “Solastalgia to Soliphilia: Cultural Fire, Climate Change, and Indigenous Healing” ----- link to: https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2022.0085 ------- with Erica Tom, an instructor in the English Department of Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College, and Ron W. Goode, Honorable Chairman of California’s North Fork Mono Tribe. ----- link to: https://www.northforkrancheria-nsn.gov/ ----- They detail the benefits to university students and community members who took part in a series of ceremonial burns on Indigenous lands in California that they organized as part of ongoing community-based participatory research project in partnership with the University of California-Davis (where Adams obtained her doctoral degree) and the Southwest Climate Adaptation Center. ----- link to: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/ -------

The researchers write that by taking part in a ceremonial burn (the term Goode and Adams both use) a few acres at a time -- usually through pile burning ----- link to: https://www.nps.gov/articles/yose-pile-burning.htm  ------ or grass burning for the restoration of culturally significant plants -- and guided by traditional environmental knowledge, the participants were able to move in significant ways from the “Solastalgia” of the paper’s title – a word coined by Australian philosopher Glen Albrecht for looming environmental dread – to “Soliphilia,” defined as a heightened state of environmental awareness and concern, which the authors say also engenders feelings of control.

“Whether you are a native person that's learning about fire, an allied person that's wanting to learn about the presence of Indigenous peoples and our land-stewardship and climate solutions, or community members that care about the places that we all live and work in and hopefully all care about, there's a role for everybody in learning about good fire,” said Adams.

As wildfires have grown larger and more frequent as the result of climate change, so, too, has the fear of them grown in the Western United States.

“We've had young people and students who experienced the Carr Fire ----- link to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carr_Fire ------ or the Paradise fire, ------- link to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018) ------ so they've lost their family homes or been affected in some way,” Adams explained. “Or they were already afraid of fire from engrained ideas that all fire is bad fire. So students participated in the ceremonial burn demonstrations to learn an Indigenous perspective of not running from fire but working with it as a land-stewardship tool. The experience is powerful as a healing concept. ... There's growing interest in cultural fire because it's a mitigation tool that people are starting to educate themselves about. These are practices that we have held onto, as Indigenous Peoples, since time immemorial.”

Adams studies and leads cultural/ceremonial fire from an Indigenous lens and invites others to learn from Traditional practices, with Indigenous peoples always leading these demonstrations. She says her eco-cultural work serves to reiterate what Indigenous communities have always known: through close connections with lands and waters, and scientific observation over time, there are numerous benefits to purposely lit cultural fire.

“In addition to the cultural-social effects of cultural fire, I also study the soil effects of cultural fire, of native fire, and its potential for carbon storage -- everybody's raving about carbon storage with climate effects – and I also talk about the water-holding capacity that good fire invites to soilscapes,” Adams said.

The authors say the benefits of “placing fire on the land” can be expanded from an individual to an environmental level as participants in programs like the one Adams helped lead in California take the lessons they’ve learned into their careers in the field.

Adams, who joined KU’s faculty in the spring of 2023, led her first ceremonial burn at the KU Field Station ----- link to: https://biosurvey.ku.edu/welcome-ku-field-station ----- in March. She looks forward to more, working with Tribes, nearby Haskell Indian Nations University (of which Adams is also an alumna), faculty and community members and Indigenous peoples in the Midwest.

“That's part of my work in trying to widen the scope of good fire,” Adams said. “We say good fire, meaning it's purposeful, it has an ecological, cultural or social benefit that it's bringing, as opposed to catastrophic wildfire, forest fire, which in most of us it's ingrained to be dangerous and something to stay away from. ...

“Not all fire is bad fire.”

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JOURNAL

Ecopsychology

DOI

10.1089/eco.2022.0085 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Solastalgia to Soliphilia: Cultural Fire, Climate Change, and Indigenous Healing

Empowering vulnerable communities in the face of growing natural threats

Peer-Reviewed Publication

STANFORD WOODS INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS AND COLLABORATORS DISCUSS ONGOING PILOT PROJECT view more 

CREDIT: TOM CASCIATO

Heavy wildfire smoke drifting from Canada to U.S. cities hundreds of miles away is a stark reminder that no community is immune from climate change-fueled hazards. A Stanford-led study published recently in Environmental Research Letters provides a blueprint for empowering  people in frontline communities – those that experience the “first and worst” consequences of climate change – to better understand and deal with wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other hazards.

The research – done in four predominantly low-income, non-English-speaking San Francisco Bay Area communities – details ways for frontline communities to gather relevant data through surveys and instruments that monitor air quality, temperature, and participant sleep health, and how to improve outcomes through various interventions.

Below, lead author Natalie Herbert, senior author Gabrielle Wong-Parodi and coauthor Cade Cannedydiscuss the pilot study’s implications for policymaking, community-led science, and more. Herbert is a research scientist in the department of Earth system science at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Wong-Parodi is an assistant professor of Earth system science and a center fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Cannedy is a program manager at Climate Resilient Communities and a Stanford graduate.

 

How have frontline communities suffered disproportionately from wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other climate hazards?

Cannedy: In the communities we studied, housing is often very old or in poor condition. This allows smoke, heat, and other hazards to penetrate the home. Also, the impact of these events is often cumulative. For example, wildfire smoke can have greater consequences for your health if you already have asthma from growing up in a chronically pollution burdened community like those in our study area. 

What are some key interventions frontline communities can employ to deal with wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other climate hazards?

Herbert: We found communities are already acting to protect their health from climate hazards. For example, they’re wearing masks and staying inside during smoke and heat. Yet there are opportunities for more interventions that provide additional protection, whether from public health agencies, weatherization assistance programs, or funders who support the work of our community partners. For wildfire smoke, we want to increase the number of households with better weatherization to reduce infiltration, who have and use air cleaners with HEPA filters, and who wear better masks like N95s when they’re outside.

 

Why should policymakers care about your pilot study?

Herbert: We learned through our pilot that the programs policymakers might wish to deploy – such as improved improving weatherization and increasing access to air purifiers – could have unintended consequences for low-income communities. Weatherization in rental units could cause landlords to increase rents, and air purifiers won’t get used if people cannot afford the associated power bill. Renter protections and outreach from low-income home energy assistance programs can help.

Wong-Parodi: Our pilot highlights a key insight for policymakers: the reason many frontline communities are exposed to climate hazards stems from structural and institutional systems that create situations where some people have been marginalized and have fewer resources. It’s important to acknowledge we have little or no information about how people in these communities are exposed, or what they are thinking, doing, and feeling in response to these threats. This information is key to developing programs and policies that can best and appropriately meet the needs of frontline communities.

 

What are some of the important lessons learned from this pilot study, and how might they be incorporated into similar studies?

Wong-Parodi: Our pilot would not have been successful without our community partners and community ambassadors. They reached out to their networks of friends, families, and neighbors to enroll participants. They were key in helping us to explain the study and its benefits, as well as allaying concerns.

Cannedy: Many people want to make actions accessible, but often don’t consider the equity implications. For example, having people download a smartphone app might be a great, low cost intervention for users with a lot of resources and technical expertise. But for folks who are already experiencing the worst consequences of climate change, that might not be the best solution.

 

The study was funded by Stanford Impact Labs, the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences, the United States Parcel Service Endowment Fund at Stanford, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation.

Additional coauthors affiliated with Stanford include Jinpu Cao, a PhD student in civil and environmental engineering; Stephanie Fischer, a PhD student in Earth system science; Sergio Sanchez Lopez, a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER);Derek Ouyang, a research manager in the Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab of Stanford Law School; Jenny Suckale, an assistant professor of geophysics and center fellow, by courtesy, at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment; and Zhihao Zhang, a graduate student researcher in the department of energy science and engineering. Coauthors also include researchers from Climate Resilient Communities, RTI International,  Sonoma Technology, and El Concilio of San Mateo County.

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JOURNAL

Environmental Research Letters

DOI

10.1088/1748-9326/acddf9 

ARTICLE TITLE

Improving adaptation to wildfire smoke and extreme heat in frontline communities: evidence from a community-engaged pilot study in the San Francisco Bay Area

Fewer than half of new drugs add substantial therapeutic value over existing treatments

Patients need better treatments, not just more of the same, says expert

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

New drugs are often used not only for one disease (first approved indication) but also for other diseases (supplemental indications). 

But a study published by The BMJ today finds that less than half of approved first indications for new drugs in the US and Europe between 2011 and 2020 add substantial therapeutic value over existing treatments and only around a third of supplemental approvals add substantial therapeutic value compared with first approvals. 

The researchers argue that when first or supplemental indications do not offer added benefit over existing treatments, this information should be clearly communicated to patients and reflected in the price of the drugs.

Previous research on the added value of new drugs is unclear. So researchers set out to examine all new drugs approved for more than one indication in the US and Europe between 2011 and 2020 and assess the therapeutic value of supplemental indications compared with first indications. 

They used publicly available data to identify 124 first and 335 supplemental indications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 88 first and 215 supplemental indications approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) between January 2011 and December 2020.

In the US, 48% of drugs had one supplemental indication, 20% had two, 14% had three, and 18% had four or more. In Europe, 48% of drugs had one supplemental indication, 23% had two, 13% had three, and 17% had four or more. Most (58%) of indications approved by the FDA and EMA were for treatment of cancer.

Therapeutic ratings from French and German health technology assessment (HTA) bodies were available for 107 (86%) first and 179 (53%) supplemental indications in the US and for 87 (99%) first and 184 (86%) supplemental indications in Europe. 

Among FDA-approved indications with available ratings, 41% (44 of 107) had high therapeutic value ratings for first, compared with 34% (61 of 179) for supplemental indications. In Europe, 47% (41 of 87) of first and 36% (67 of 184) of supplemental indications had high therapeutic value ratings.

Among FDA approvals, when the sample was restricted to the first three approved indications, second indication approvals were 36% less likely to have a high value rating and third indication approvals were 45% less likely when compared to the first indication approval. Similar findings were observed for Europe.

These are observational findings and the researchers acknowledge that therapeutic value ratings were not available for all indications, particularly indications approved in the US but not in Europe. Furthermore, the methods and value assessment system can be influenced by country specific factors and assumptions.

However, they point out that they focused on the highest rating provided by one of the two HTA bodies and did sensitivity analyses with the value scores of each authority separately, which confirmed the initial results.

As such, they conclude: “Fewer than half of approved first indications in the US and Europe were rated as having high therapeutic value, and the proportion of approved supplemental indications rated as having high therapeutic value was substantially lower than for approved first indications."

"When indications do not offer added therapeutic benefit over other available treatments, that information should be clearly communicated to patients and reflected in the price of the drugs.”

The fact that new does not necessarily mean better needs to be clearly communicated to both patients and clinicians, agrees Beate Wieseler at the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, in a linked editorial.

“The system’s current performance does not meet the expectations of patients and the public, clinicians, or policy makers,” she writes. “Having experienced the potential of a coordinated drug development effort during the covid-19 pandemic, we should seek to align current legislation on drug development more closely with defined public health goals.”

[Ends] 

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JOURNAL

The BMJ

DOI

10.1136/bmj-2022-074166 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Therapeutic value of first versus supplemental indications of drugs in US and Europe (2011-20): retrospective cohort study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Jul-2023

COI STATEMENT

All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: support from the Swiss Cancer Research Foundation (Krebsforschung Schweiz), the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, grant number 194607), and Kaiser Permanente Institute of Health Policy for the submitted work; KNV’s work is supported by the SNSF and the Swiss Cancer Research Foundation; ASK’s work is supported by Arnold Ventures; JSR receives research support through Yale University from Johnson & Johnson to develop methods of clinical trial data sharing, from the Medical Device Innovation Consortium as part of the National Evaluation System for Health Technology (NEST), from the Food and Drug Administration for the Yale-Mayo Clinic Center for Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI) program (U01FD005938), from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS022882), from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01HS025164, R01HL144644), and from Arnold Ventures; in addition, JSR is an expert witness at the request of Relator’s attorneys, the Greene Law Firm, in a qui tam suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute against Biogen Inc.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAl

International migrants left behind in HIV response: study

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MONASH UNIVERSITY

International migrants in Australia and beyond are at increased risk of HIV infection due to reduced access to a highly effective prevention measure, a world-first global review led by Monash University has found.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is up to 99 per cent effective in preventing HIV. The antiretroviral tablet is available by prescription and taken to prevent HIV infection. 

Published in The Lancet Public Health, the study identified barriers that migrant populations in Australia and around the world face to access PrEP.

Multiple barriers included lack of awareness, low risk perception for HIV, and service issues such as cost and provider discrimination. They also faced uncertainty in navigating the health system and stigma around HIV, gay and bisexual identities and using PrEP. 

Senior author and Melbourne Sexual Health Centre physician, Monash University Central Clinical School Associate Professor Jason Ong, said a concerning number of migrants were being left behind in the HIV response compared to those who were Australian-born.

He said the study identified the need for culturally tailored approaches for PrEP access, and to address migration and HIV-related discriminatory policies, including making it much harder for people with HIV to obtain permanent residency.

“Navigating the landscape of HIV prevention is like traversing a maze, with barriers blocking the way at every turn,” Associate Professor Ong said. “Culturally tailored approaches act as guiding lights, illuminating the path forward.

“To improve health inequities, we suggest strategies at societal, service and individual levels that address the barriers of using PrEP among those who would benefit from it the most.”

Associate Professor Ong said PrEP was “game-changing” in preventing HIV. 

“Getting this into the hands of the right people remains a significant barrier in our fight against HIV,” he said. “Our study shows that it is possible to improve health inequity in our society if we can direct resources to the right people." 

Professor Darryl O’Donnell, the CEO of Health Equity Matters concurred.

“We know PrEP is highly effective in preventing HIV. Australia has made PrEP available at low cost to its own citizens. We have a national goal of virtually eliminating HIV transmission,” Professor O’Donnell said. “We will only achieve this if PrEP is available to all who can benefit, including people migrating to Australia.”

The study involved Alfred Health, Monash University, Australia, UNAIDS, WHO, UNSW Sydney, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

 

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JOURNAL

The Lancet Public Health

DOI

10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00105-6 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Improving access to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV among international migrant populations

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Jul-2023

Invasive non-native species cost UK economy an estimated £4bn a year, new CABI-led study reveals

CABI scientists have carried out a study which reveals invasive non-native species (INNS) – such as the aquatic water weeds floating pennywort and Japanese knotweed as well as signal crayfish – cost the UK economy an estimated £4bn a year.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CABI

 

IMAGE: FLOATING PENNYWORT ON THE RIVER WEY, WEYBRIDGE, UK view more 

CREDIT: DJAMI DJEDDOUR CABI

CABI scientists have carried out a study which reveals invasive non-native species (INNS) – such as the aquatic water weeds floating pennywort and Japanese knotweed as well as signal crayfish – cost the UK economy an estimated £4bn a year.

However, when species only covered by the GB Non-native Species Strategy are considered – for instance with fungi excluded from the estimate – the total cost was estimated to be £1.9bn.

Researchers working from CABI’s centres in Egham, UK, as well as Switzerland and Kenya, found a 135% increase in comparable costs since the last assessment was conducted in 2010. Annual estimated costs in 2021 were £3.02bn, £499m, £343m and £150m to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.

The cost to forestry increased eightfold, the cost to aquaculture and agriculture increased by 139.5% and 112.7%, respectively, and the cost of most of the other sectors increased roughly in line with inflation (47.6% for GB and 55.7% for Northern Ireland).

Agriculture is the industry affected the most with estimated costs for the UK put at £1.088bn followed by construction, development and infrastructure at £270m and tourism and recreation at £136m. The impact upon forestry is £123m.

The study, published in the journal Biological Invasions, updates the earlier assessment using the same methodology and the diversity of changes among sectors and species highlights the value of such a detailed approach.

There are currently around 2,000 INNS in the UK with 10-12 new species establishing themselves every year. The list includes well-known established species such as grey squirrel, killer shrimp, giant hogweed, mink and parakeets, as well as recently arrived, but highly impactful species such as the sea squirt Didemnum vexillum and ash dieback.

The fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, which causes ash dieback disease has become the costliest species in the past decade in the UK at an estimated £883.5m followed by followed by Japanese knotweed (£246.5m), rabbits (£169.7m), rats and mice (£84.4m), cockroaches (£69.8m) and deer (£62.9m).

As a group, fungi were the costliest to the UK, accounting for 52.9% of the total estimated costs, followed by mammals, plants and terrestrial arthropods (21.9%, 15.5% and 7.5% of the total, respectively).

Dr Rene Eschen, lead author and Senior Scientist, Ecosystems Management, said, “Our research illustrates the usefulness of repeating economic cost assessments for INNS, as INNS are dynamic and their impacts vary.

“Repeat assessments like this one are important to maintain a focus on the impact of INNS, changes in impacts as a result of new or spreading species, as well as the identification of potential impacts of management or policies.”

The researchers recommend continued investment in sustainable, long-term solutions for widespread damaging species, such as classical biological control, which, they say, has been shown worldwide to be a cost-effective, safe and environmentally sensitive management option when other methods prove ineffective or are no longer feasible.

Dr Richard Shaw, co-author and Senior Regional Director, Europe and The Americas, said, “This assessment again shows the important costs of INNS to the UK economy. Few effects of INNS specific management efforts can be seen in these results. However, they highlight the need to continue prevention and early detection, followed by eradication of the highest-risk species prior to establishment.”

In February, the GB Invasive Non-native Species Strategy, which draws upon CABI’s research, was published to provide a strategic framework within which the actions of government departments, their related bodies and key stakeholders can be better co-ordinated.

Defra Head of GB Non-Native Secretariat, Niall Moore, said: “Invasive Non-Native species pose a serious threat to our natural environment and this Government is taking action through the recently launched GB Invasive Non-Native Species strategy, to protect our native animals and plants from INNS.

“CABI’s research, funded by Defra, reveals the significant financial impact of INNS. It is vital that we work together with researchers, scientists, and others, who are working to tackle INNS, to prevent their entry into and establishment in Great Britain and, when they do become established, to mitigate their negative impacts.”

Additional information

Main image: Floating pennywort is one invasive non-native species of concern. The aquatic weed causes dense mats that cover the water’s surface – such as here on this water course on the River Wey, Weybridge, UK (Credit: Djami Djeddour).

Full paper reference

René Eschen, Mariam Kadzamira, Sonja Stutz, Adewale Ogunmodede, Djami Djeddour, Richard Shaw, Corin Pratt, Sonal Varia, Kate Constantine and Frances Williams, ‘An updated assessment of the direct costs of invasive non-native species to the United Kingdom,’ 6 July 2023, Biological Invasions, DOI: 10.1007/s10530-023-03107-2

The paper can be read in full open access from 1am UK Time 6 July 2022 here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-023-03107-2

 

Acknowledgement

This work was funded by the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under contract #34247. CABI is an international intergovernmental organisation, and we gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate-General for International Cooperation), and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). See https://www.cabi.org/about-cabi/who-we-work-with/key-donors/ for full details.

 

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JOURNAL

Biological Invasions

DOI

10.1007/s10530-023-03107-2 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

An updated assessment of the direct costs of invasive non-native species to the United Kingdom

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

6-Jul-2023