Geoda.ch

Where You Live Matters to Your Health

The social, built, and natural environments surrounding where you live influence your health and well-being. Many scientific studies have proven the major role that the location of your address plays in shaping environmental risks, which can have both positive and negative effects on health. Some environmental factors are visible to the naked eye, while others, such as radon, air pollution, or traffic noise, are less apparent. By accessing a Geoda.ch housing report, you can obtain information about some of the risk factors associated with your address.

Governments around the world are creating and expanding policies to enhance the openness of data relating to public health and welfare. There is a growing emphasis on making this data available to the public for free and in formats that allow a variety of uses. The benefits of open data in health are numerous, including empowering individuals to make more informed decisions about their own health.

The Swiss open data related to health is, to a very large extent, published in a geographic WebGIS format. At Geoda.ch, we collect and curate this data at the level of individual addresses and display it in our housing reports. We aim to expand the datasets included, which currently comprise the following:

• Radon and your health: Elevated radon concentrations in indoor air can harm your health and lead to cancer. Radon kills an estimated 300 persons annually and is the second most significant cause of lung cancer in Switzerland after smoking. A Geoda.ch housing report gives you information on the most significant risk factors for radon contamination for all Swiss addresses.
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• Traffic noise and your health. One in seven people in Switzerland has to put up with excessive noise pollution, particularly from road traffic. Traffic noise reduces life expectancy. Every year, the Swiss population loses approximately 69,300 life years that could have been lived out in good health in the absence of noise pollution. A Geoda.ch housing report gives you information on traffic noise for all Swiss addresses.
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