Grantee Research Project Results
2023 Progress Report: A Community-Aligned Action Plan for Effective Communication of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure Risks
EPA Grant Number: R840325Title: A Community-Aligned Action Plan for Effective Communication of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure Risks
Investigators: Ivey, Cesunica
Institution: University of California - Berkeley
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2023 through December 31,2023
Project Amount: $549,940
RFA: Interventions and Communication Strategies to Reduce Health Risks of Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Early Career Awards , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Watersheds , Wildfires
Objective:
The first objective of the research is to carry out a multi-tier assessment of the effectiveness of exposure risk communication in the Bay Area of California and gather feedback on participant responsiveness to the communication. It is hypothesized that participant responsiveness and propensity to take mitigating action increases as the level of personalization of risk communication increases. The second objective is to form an inclusive community advisory board that will provide insight into community responses to health risk communication and exposure interventions. It is hypothesized that culturally and behaviorally aligned messaging is most effective for reducing wildfire smoke exposure.
Progress Summary:
To date the team has established meaningful and collaborative relationships with community organizations or other researchers. Investigative data analysis was conducted to understand fire and smoke dynamics of Bay Area wildfire events in the past decade. Equipment preparation and deployment is ongoing, as well as and preparations for summer 2024 participatory engagement. IRB approval was obtained for the human subjects research protocol.
Future Activities:
Upcoming activities include the first of two multi-tier risk communication effectiveness assessments, which will commence in the summer of 2024. The community advisory board will meet several times over the course of 2024 to discuss relevant confounders for the effectiveness of traditional exposure risk communication.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 2 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
participatory research, community engagement, risk communicationRelevant Websites:
Air Quality Modeling and Exposure Lab Exit
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.