Grantee Research Project Results

2024 Progress Report: Enhancing Communication to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure Due to Prescribed Burns

EPA Grant Number: R840241
Title: Enhancing Communication to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure Due to Prescribed Burns
Investigators: Adetona, Olorunfemi , Ihekweazu, Chioma
Institution: The Ohio State University , Battelle Memorial Institute
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: October 1, 2021 through May 8, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2023 through September 30,2024
Project Amount: $999,995
RFA: Interventions and Communication Strategies to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures (2021) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Wildfires

Objective:

1. Understand the barriers and facilitators that institutions face in developing risk communication for surrounding community members during prescribed burn events.
2. Collate best practices in developing and disseminating risk communication that may be applied to prescribed burn events.
3. Facilitate the uptake of risk communication messaging, materials, and mechanisms that best meet the needs of both institutional and community stakeholders.

Progress Summary:

A. Outputs

1. Co-investigators and key research personnel continue to meet via monthly Zoom videoconferences (fourth Monday of the month at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST or second Monday of the month at 1:00 pm-2:00 pm EST) and at other times as needed.
2. Quality management documents and plans were audited by the Quality Manager for the project.
3. Amendments to study protocol, including allowing for assistance from expert panel members to identify potential participants in the organizational stakeholder focus groups and the documents needed for the focus groups were submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). These amendments were approved during the reporting period.
4. Meetings were conducted with the expert panel members to review content and materials for the initial health risk communication toolkit.
5. An initial health risk communication toolkit was developed and is housed on the project website.
6. The findings from the key informant interviews were written into a manuscript and submitted to a wildfire-focused special issue of Environmental Science & Technology (EST). Although the manuscript was rejected by EST for lack of fit, the manuscript is being revised and will be submitted to Environmental Communication.
7. The project website (https://u.osu.edu/cphp/prescribed-burn-project/) continued to be maintained and updated as appropriate during the reporting period.
8. Focus groups of community members for the health risk communication toolkit was completed.
9. An extension of the performance period until March 31, 2026, was sought and obtained.

B. Outcomes

1. Maintenance of the project website (https://u.osu.edu/cphp/prescribed-burn-project/) is continuing to aid transparency and access to study materials and findings.
2. One article synthesizing results of the literature review and environmental scan was published.
3. Manuscript of the findings of the key informant interviews was submitted to EST for publication.
4. Initial health risk communication toolkit was developed.

 

One manuscript titled, “Review of health risk communication related to community smoke exposure from prescribed burns,” was published by the International Journal of Wildland Fire. Another manuscript titled, “Characterizing health risk communication needs for smoke exposure among community members and institutions in three states with varied levels of prescribed burn use” from the key informant interviews is being revised for a second submission.

Future Activities:

1. Revise and do a new submission of the manuscript of findings from the Key informant interviews.
2. Complete up to six focus groups of organizational stakeholders about the initial health risk communication toolkit.
3. Revise and update the health risk communication toolkit based on the information gathered from the focus groups of community members and organizational stakeholders.
4. Plan and conduct a virtual workshop to discuss project findings and to launch and disseminate the health communication toolkit.
5. Assess the effectiveness of the toolkit using a longitudinal survey of organizational stakeholders who attend the workshop.
6. Year three budget carryovers from the Ohio State University, Battelle Memorial Institute, and University of Georgia were completed. All other budget items are in line with the revised 4.5-year approved budget. It is anticipated that some funds will be repurposed for personnel effort at Battelle during the extension period. The funds for this activity will be obtained from reduced personnel effort at The Ohio State University and leftover funds from research services for recruitment and setting up interview/focus group platforms.

Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views

Other project views:	All 1 publications	1 publications in selected types	All 1 journal articles

Publications

Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Joe M, Cocci A, Ihekweazu C, Adetona O, Adetona A, Maslak T, Naeher LP. Limited availability of health risk communication related to community smoke exposure from prescribed burns in the United States:a review. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 2024;33(9).	R840241 (2024)	Full-text: CSIRO Publishing - Full Text HTML Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

Health risk, risk communication, prescribed burn, prescribed fire, wildland fire smoke, wildfire smoke

Relevant Websites:

Prescribed Burn Risk Communication Project Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2022 Progress Report

2023 Progress Report

Final Report