Grantee Research Project Results
Smoke-ready communities, Creating and sustaining air quality information using targeted communication interventions
EPA Grant Number: R840363Title: Smoke-ready communities, Creating and sustaining air quality information using targeted communication interventions
Investigators: Fischer, Emily , Pierce, Jeffrey , Magzamen, Sheryl , Anderson, Ashley A , Abrams, Katie , Ford, Bonne
Institution: Colorado State University
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: March 1, 2022 through February 28, 2025 (Extended to February 28, 2027)
Project Amount: $992,464
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 , Wildfires
Description:
While there is a growing number of strategies to reduce human exposure to wildfire smoke, effectively communicating and adopting these strategies remains challenging. Our team is building partnerships with communities in Colorado to create a communication infrastructure for air quality information that (a) enhances the available information about air quality, (b) develops targeted messaging that reaches individuals based on their levels of need and vulnerability, and (c) utilizes trusted sources of information. Our partner communities in Colorado regularly experience smoke exposure and elevated ozone. The goals of Objective 1 are to expand low-cost monitoring networks in our partner test-bed communities, quality control and correct measurements, and develop real-time sub-city-scale smoke maps to support accurate and actionable communication about air quality. The goal of Objective 2 is to enhance the capability of communities to provide timely, accurate, and actionable information about air quality through interviews with community leaders and members, and to develop messaging through multiple communication channels. Our strategies will be enacted by our partner communities, and Objective 3 is focused on evaluating the effectiveness of these communication campaigns in developing individual-level awareness, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes.
Approach:
The main output of Objective 1 is real-time, high-resolution particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) concentration maps covering the regions of our partner organizations. PM is the largest immediate health threat from wildfire smoke, and thus we are expanding the existing PM networks in our partner communities, installing additional PurpleAir sensors in strategic municipal locations to fill measurement gaps with a particular focus on vulnerable low socioeconomic (SES) urban and rural communities. This data underpins spatial interpolations of real-time estimates of PM throughout our partner regions. While the focus is on smoke and PM2.5, our maps also include O3 to allow for routine testing of air quality related messaging. Our approach to support Objective 2 relies on in-depth interviews with community leaders, as well as focus groups with community members, to develop best practices for communicating air quality. Interviews with community leaders identify access points in the community for reaching the most vulnerable populations and who the trusted messengers are for health-based information. Community focus groups provide information on health status, information preferences, levels of involvement with and concern about air quality, and community engagement. Community partnerships are utilized to develop communication strategies that involve messages and communication channels that best fit the community and its members. These messages connect specific levels of air pollutants in the local environment with actions people can take to protect their health. Objective 3 requires evaluation of the communication strategies developed for and enacted by the test-bed communities using a pre-/post-survey design of members of the community. This survey addresses health-protective behaviors, cognitive behaviors (information seeking and processing), and attitudinal behaviors (e.g., awareness and involvement). This evaluation informs recommendations to other communities as they develop locally relevant communication about air quality.
Expected Results:
Objective 1 expands air quality monitoring coverage and produces real-time, high-resolution maps of air pollution for our partner regions. These maps allow users to understand sub-city and sub-region gradients and changes in smoke concentrations that are missed by traditional monitoring. Our partners use this information to make specific recommendations, and the public can choose activities that minimize smoke exposure. Objective 2 produces an evidence-based communication platform with targeted messages and channels to relay information about smoke concentrations and suggested protective measures to take. The potential impact of this endeavor is that communities develop capacity to increase their information exchange with community members about the state of air quality directly occurring in the communities. Community leaders will have more communication tools to use, and community members will have more opportunities to learn about air quality and its impacts on health. Adopting our community-based design across two separate communities enables us to test efficacy across multiple populations and develop a more general communication campaign that may be implemented by additional community partners, and across other geographical areas for the most impact. Objective 3 enhances our understanding of the success of our communication campaign in community adoption of health-protective behaviors related to air quality, knowledge and awareness of air quality, and increases discussion and communication of air quality issues in the community. It informs how different groups within the tested communities are engaging with the issue and responding to different messages around air quality.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 6 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
air, wildfires, smoke, health, community assets, communication, low-cost monitoringProgress 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.