Grantee Research Project Results
Early Life Vulnerability to Climate-driven Wildfire Events on Pregnancy and Child Developmental Health Outcomes in Underserved Populations
EPA Grant Number: R840484Title: Early Life Vulnerability to Climate-driven Wildfire Events on Pregnancy and Child Developmental Health Outcomes in Underserved Populations
Investigators: Schmidt, Rebecca , Nuno, Miriam , Conlon, Kathryn , Kleeman, Michael J. , Raffuse, Sean , Bennett, Deborah , Hertz-Piccotto, Irva , Corsi, Richard L. , Taiwo, Tanya Khemet , Rtiz, Beate
Current Investigators: Schmidt, Rebecca , Corsi, Richard L. , Kleeman, Michael J. , Nuno, Miriam , Conlon, Kathryn , Raffuse, Sean , Bennett, Deborah , Hertz-Piccotto, Irva , Taiwo, Tanya Khemet , Rtiz, Beate , Sossa, Natalia Deeb
Institution: University of California Davis , University of California - Los Angeles
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: September 1, 2022 through April 23, 2025
Project Amount: $1,349,979
RFA: Cumulative Health Impacts at the Intersection of Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Vulnerable Populations/Lifestages: Community-Based Research for Solutions (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice , Human Health , Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors
Description:
Wildfires are increasingly threatening human health. Developing children could be especially vulnerable to wildfire exposures during pregnancy and the first years of life. Only two studies to date have examined which populations are at highest risk for prenatal wildfire exposures, with inconsistent results. Underserved families could be particularly vulnerable given co-occurring and potentially compounding environmental and contextual vulnerabilities.
Objective:
Our research will address parent concerns and is guided by community-based participatory research principles with culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches that rely on knowledge and experience, to identify which populations are most impacted by wildfireassociated air pollution exposures and whether these exposures increase risk for adverse birth and child neurodevelopmental outcomes. We will determine critical periods of developmental susceptibility and vulnerability factors that compound risk, in order to identify who would benefit most from education and resources for exposure mitigation. Partnership with community members will inform culturally relevant research questions, aid with the interpretation and dissemination of results, guide education efforts and interventions to help mitigate wildfire smoke exposure, and to promote good health in children.
Approach:
Wildfire-specific and background air pollution will be estimated using both landuse regression and chemical transport models for California in years 2000-2021, and linked to geocoded addresses from California birth records to better understand the distribution of wildfirerelated air pollution across a range of family, neighborhood, environmental, and community factors that could indicate increased vulnerability. We will examine perinatal wildfire exposures in association with birth outcomes, including gestational age and weight at birth. We will then link exposures to California Department of Developmental Services data to evaluate associations with diagnoses of autism and developmental delays. We will evaluate exposure windows, exposure mixtures, and compounding vulnerability factors associated with higher risk. We will train members of vulnerable communities to lead educational activities on building low-cost and effective Corsi-Rosenthal Air Filter Boxes and other ways to mitigate exposures.
Expected Results:
This work will address stakeholder questions and inform mothers, clinicians and public health officials on who is most at-risk for wildfire exposures, the degree of risk to developing children associated with wildfires while accounting for differences by contextual vulnerabilities, and who to focus educational campaigns on for the greatest exposure reduction and improvement of child health outcomes. Our community engagement activities will determine acceptance of educational training on exposure mitigation among the most vulnerable populations.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 5 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Environmental justice, exposure mitigation, environmental education, air filtrationProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.