Overview
Dr Xiaocheng (Sam) Hu joined the ECEHH in January 2019. At ECEHH, in collaboration with a local SME, Sam works on the Innovate UK project and applies his analytical skills to understand the contribution of volatile anaesthetics to global warming. In 2020, he had also involved in a short-term project (September – December) looking at the economic and environmental impacts of COVID-19 on plastic use in NHS hospitals. He is now based in the Environment and Sustainability Institute working on a project to evaluate the plastic consumption behaviour of UK households.
Sam holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. His primary research interests lie in personnel economics and experimental economics, with a particular focus on the economic and social impacts of teamwork and incentive schemes.
Sam also has a deep interest in inequality. In 2018, he was involved in a project at the Southern Policy Centre (part-time) on whether different patterns of material inequality at the household level mirror in individual outcomes across the life course such as health and education.
Links
Research group links
Research
Research interests
Applied econometrics, personnel economics, experimental economics, and environmental economics (in the context of healthcare).
Research projects
COVID and Waste
Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this may neutralise the previous effort made by the NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint. In collaboration with the local Trust - Royal Cornwall Hospitals, Dr Sam Hu, Prof Lora Fleming, Prof Karyn Morrissey, Prof Richard Smith, and Prof Peter Hopkinson investigated the effect of COVID-19 on the effort of reducing single-use plastic at the hospital.
Sustainable Inhalational Anaesthetic Gases
The NHS spends about 50 to 60 million pounds on inhalational anaesthetic gases per year. However, approximately 98% of these gases are vented to the atmosphere. The global warming potential, for example desflurane is 2,540 times more likely to cause global warming than carbon dioxide. In collaboration with a leading tech start-up SageTech Medical, as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) project, Dr Sam Hu, Dr Tim Taylor, and Prof Karyn Morrissey estimated the economic and environmental impacts of a new vapour capture technology.
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Hu X, Davies R, Morrissey K, Smith R, Fleming LE, Sharmina M, Clair R, Hopkinson P (2022). Single-use Plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and Opportunities.
Journal of Public Health Research,
11(1), jphr.2021.2483-jphr.2021.2483.
Abstract:
Single-use Plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and Opportunities
Background Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, intensified use of PPE could counteract the previous efforts made by the UK NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint. Design and methods in this study, we conducted an in-depth case study in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to investigate plastic-related issues in a typical NHS Trust before, during and after the pandemic. We first collected hospital routine data on both procurement and usage of single-use PPE (including face masks, aprons, and gowns) for the time period between April 2019 and August 2020. We then interviewed 12 hospital staff across a wide remit, from senior managers to consultants, nurses and catering staff, to gather qualitative evidence on the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Trust regarding plastic use. Results We found that although COVID-19 had increased the procurement and the use of single-use plastic substantially during the pandemic, it did not appear to have changed the focus of the hospital on implementing measures to reduce single-use plastic in the long term. We then discussed the barriers and opportunities to tackle plastic issues within the NHS in the post-COVID world, for example, a circular healthcare model. Conclusion Investment is needed in technologies and processes that can recycle and reuse a wider range of single-use plastics, and innovate sustainable alternatives to replace singleuse consumables used in the NHS to construct a fully operational closed material loop healthcare system.
Abstract.
Hu X (2022). The role of manager's gender in mentoring: Evidence in the United Kingdom. Labour, 36(3), 389-407.
Hu X, Pierce JT, Taylor T, Morrissey K (2021). The carbon footprint of general anaesthetics: a case study in the UK.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling,
167Abstract:
The carbon footprint of general anaesthetics: a case study in the UK
The UK National Health Service (NHS) aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. One measure for reaching this target outlined in the NHS long-term plan (2019) is to reduce the carbon footprint of inhalational anaesthetic gases (IAGs). We modelled the synthesis of commonly used IAGs - sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane - in comparison to intravenous propofol and estimated the carbon footprint generated throughout their lifetime, from manufacturing of raw materials to emissions of IAGs vented from operating theatres. We find that the carbon footprint of IAGs varies significantly depending on the method of chemical synthesis. Our results indicate that the carbon footprint of IAGs is minimised when using oxygen/air mix as the carrier gas at the lowest flow rate while applying a vapour capture technology (VCT). In this scenario, the carbon footprint of sevoflurane per minimum alveolar concentration hour is similar to that of propofol, which is a significant finding given that previous studies have favoured propofol as a means of carbon footprint reduction and only the active pharmaceutical ingredient of propofol was examined. Further, we show that the carbon footprint of sevoflurane used in the NHS during 2018, in the absence of VCTs, is not smaller than that of desflurane if sevoflurane is synthesised from tetrafluoroethylene. Therefore, to reduce the carbon footprint of IAGs, this study supports the continued reduction in the use of nitrous oxide and recommends a wider adoption of VCTs.
Abstract.
Gall T, Hu X, Vlassopoulos M (2019). Dynamic incentive effects of assignment mechanisms: Experimental evidence. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 28(4), 687-712.
Publications by year
2022
Hu X, Davies R, Morrissey K, Smith R, Fleming LE, Sharmina M, Clair R, Hopkinson P (2022). Single-use Plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and Opportunities.
Journal of Public Health Research,
11(1), jphr.2021.2483-jphr.2021.2483.
Abstract:
Single-use Plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and Opportunities
Background Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, intensified use of PPE could counteract the previous efforts made by the UK NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint. Design and methods in this study, we conducted an in-depth case study in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to investigate plastic-related issues in a typical NHS Trust before, during and after the pandemic. We first collected hospital routine data on both procurement and usage of single-use PPE (including face masks, aprons, and gowns) for the time period between April 2019 and August 2020. We then interviewed 12 hospital staff across a wide remit, from senior managers to consultants, nurses and catering staff, to gather qualitative evidence on the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Trust regarding plastic use. Results We found that although COVID-19 had increased the procurement and the use of single-use plastic substantially during the pandemic, it did not appear to have changed the focus of the hospital on implementing measures to reduce single-use plastic in the long term. We then discussed the barriers and opportunities to tackle plastic issues within the NHS in the post-COVID world, for example, a circular healthcare model. Conclusion Investment is needed in technologies and processes that can recycle and reuse a wider range of single-use plastics, and innovate sustainable alternatives to replace singleuse consumables used in the NHS to construct a fully operational closed material loop healthcare system.
Abstract.
Hu X (2022). The role of manager's gender in mentoring: Evidence in the United Kingdom. Labour, 36(3), 389-407.
2021
Hu X, Pierce JT, Taylor T, Morrissey K (2021). The carbon footprint of general anaesthetics: a case study in the UK.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling,
167Abstract:
The carbon footprint of general anaesthetics: a case study in the UK
The UK National Health Service (NHS) aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. One measure for reaching this target outlined in the NHS long-term plan (2019) is to reduce the carbon footprint of inhalational anaesthetic gases (IAGs). We modelled the synthesis of commonly used IAGs - sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane - in comparison to intravenous propofol and estimated the carbon footprint generated throughout their lifetime, from manufacturing of raw materials to emissions of IAGs vented from operating theatres. We find that the carbon footprint of IAGs varies significantly depending on the method of chemical synthesis. Our results indicate that the carbon footprint of IAGs is minimised when using oxygen/air mix as the carrier gas at the lowest flow rate while applying a vapour capture technology (VCT). In this scenario, the carbon footprint of sevoflurane per minimum alveolar concentration hour is similar to that of propofol, which is a significant finding given that previous studies have favoured propofol as a means of carbon footprint reduction and only the active pharmaceutical ingredient of propofol was examined. Further, we show that the carbon footprint of sevoflurane used in the NHS during 2018, in the absence of VCTs, is not smaller than that of desflurane if sevoflurane is synthesised from tetrafluoroethylene. Therefore, to reduce the carbon footprint of IAGs, this study supports the continued reduction in the use of nitrous oxide and recommends a wider adoption of VCTs.
Abstract.
2019
Gall T, Hu X, Vlassopoulos M (2019). Dynamic incentive effects of assignment mechanisms: Experimental evidence. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 28(4), 687-712.
2016
Gall T, Hu X, Vlassopoulos M (2016). Dynamic Incentive Effects of Team Formation: Experimental Evidence.
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