Grantee Research Project Results
2011 Progress Report: New Methods for Analysis of Cumulative Risk in Urban Populations
EPA Grant Number: R834582Title: New Methods for Analysis of Cumulative Risk in Urban Populations
Investigators: Scammell, Madeleine Kangsen , Ozonoff, David M.
Institution: Boston University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2014 (Extended to June 30, 2015)
Project Period Covered by this Report: July 1, 2010 through June 30,2011
Project Amount: $749,226
RFA: Understanding the Role of Nonchemical Stressors and Developing Analytic Methods for Cumulative Risk Assessments (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health
Objective:
Attempt to use computer-assisted qualitative research methods and structural data analysis to characterize environmental burden on an individual and community level in a small but densely populated, ethnically and economically diverse city. Specific aims include:
1) Use established qualitative and quantitative research techniques to collect, code and characterize information about chemical exposures of concern, social and economic concerns, behavioral risk factors for disease, self reported health outcomes and perceptions of environment and quality of life from residents bordering an urban designated port area;
2) Use already developed research software implementing Galois lattices (also called Formal Concept Analysis) to examine the hierarchical and structural relationships of quantitative and qualitative data elements;
3) Use the lattice as a technique for cumulative risk assessment by examining the relationships revealed by computation; and
4) Share results of analysis with community members and public health officials and make attempts to share the software with public health practitioners and epidemiologists to use as an additional and practical tool for data analysts.
Progress Summary:
(1) Presented the STAR project and received input on the types of questions to be asked during the interviews with the following community organizations and committees: Chelsea Collaborative retreat (January), Chelsea Collaborative staff meeting (February), Chelsea Green Space committee (January and February), Chelsea Latino Immigrant Committee (February), Chelsea United in Defense of Education (February and March), City-Wide Tenants Association (February), Environmental Chelsea Organizers (March), Vecinos Unidos / Neighbors United (February and March), the Shanbaro Community Associatino of Somali Bantu in Chelsea (March).
(2) Met with members of the City of Chelsea Board of Health (March), the City of Chelsea Tree Committee (April), and staff of the Massachusetts General Hospital Chelsea Healthcare Clinic (May) to discuss our research and data sharing.
(3) Members of the BUSPH team (Scammell and Ozonoff) and the Chelsea Collaborative (Olortegui, Bongiovanni, and Garcia-Soto) identified the census tracts and blocks where we will recruit participants based on consideration of demographics from Census 2000 data (e.g., renter occupancy rates, density, race/ethnicity, language and educational status of residents) and known proximity to environmental amenities and hazards. We also agreed on targeted recruitment numbers for each area with the intention of achieving a very diverse study population.
(4) Drafted the interview guide with input from all of the above committees, all co-investigators, as well as investigators at the BU SPH Department of Community Health Sciences with expertise in exposure to violence and neighborhood effects on health. The final interview guide includes components of the Collective Efficacy Survey, the Multi-group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). Sections of the interview guide focus on: Social Environment, Ethnic Identity, Physical Environment, Individual Health, Life Stressors, and Community Involvement. The guide includes both open and closed ended questions.
Questions that came specifically from our meetings with community committees focused on: community lighting of streets and walkways, odors, trash pickup and recycling, relaxation and recreation, use of parks, religious affiliations and community participation, parents participation in schools, language barriers and cultural adaptation and other immigrant issues. The questionnaire has been translated into Spanish.
(5) Detailed study protocol was submitted to the Boston University Medical Campus IRB in May. This was bad timing as the IRB was changing its protocol software and process. As of July 30 we expect a final approval of our protocol by the end of August.
Future Activities:
(1) The major activity for the present funding period is to conduct up to 500 interviews and begin analyses of the data (Specific aim 1).
(2) The team is developing a plan for data cleaning, entry and analysis, and identifying a sub-set of the data for initial analysis in year two using the lattice software (Specific Aim 2).
(3) We also plan to submit a manuscript for publication on cumulative impacts/burdens/risks/exposures and issues of measurement in environmental health.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 17 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
ambient air, water, health effects, human health, sensitive populations, age, race, diet, ethnic groups, toxics, particulates, metals, solvents, public policy, observation, preferences, social science, epidemiology, mathematics, modeling, monitoring, analytical, Northeast, EPA Region 1, transportation, petroleum.Relevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe 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.