You are here:
Health effects from smoke exposure as reported by users of the EPA’s Smoke Sense application
Citation:
Ward-Caviness, C., A. Corrigan, K. Rappazzo, C. Baghdikian, M. Hano, D. Diaz-Sanchez, AND A. Rappold. Health effects from smoke exposure as reported by users of the EPA’s Smoke Sense application. 2018 NC BREATHE Conference, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, March 08, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
This product is an abstract submitted to the NC Breathe conference hosted at Wake Forest University and should feature both researchers and clinicians. Smoke Sense is a novel mobile application that featured a highly successful debut during the 2017 wildfire season and was able to collect invaluable data on smoke exposure and health risks among smartphone users. It also provided educational materials and data on air quality in the local area. The description and analysis of Smoke Sense is of great interest to the local research community and offers a novel means for the public to participate in Citizen Science and presents a link between translational science and environmental epidemiology. Presenting to and receiving feedback from the local research community will help to disseminate and improve this novel, high quality research product and advance the goals of the EPA.
Description:
Background: Large wildfires are increasing in frequency and contribute substantially to the air quality across the United States. Smoke Sense is an initiative that aims to understand the health effects of wildfire smoke exposure and evaluate effective forms of communication. The Smoke Sense mobile application was developed to study how the public receives and interprets information on wildfires, in order to improve education of the public about the relationship between wildfire smoke and health, and incentivize behaviors that reduce an individuals’ exposure. Methods: Smoke Sense was designed by EPA researchers and released on both the iOS and Android mobile operating systems during the 2017 wildfire season. Upon download, users were prompted to set up a baseline profile and to weekly answer questions related to smoke observations and health outcomes. Users could view daily air quality and report wildfires in their area, and were able to answer questions related to air quality, health, and smoke exposure reduction actions. Results: From 8/1/2017 through 11/20/2017 Smoke Sense was downloaded 4,508 times by users who logged into the application 49,622 times. Approximately 92% of users logged into Smoke Sense more than once. Users were overall well-educated and resided in the Western United States. During smoke episodes, as compared to other times, users were far more likely to report a variety of symptoms including: cardiac symptoms; lung, nose, and throat irritation; symptoms related to eye and ear irritation, and being tired, dizzy, or experiencing viral infections. Conclusions: The Smoke Sense mobile application reached a large user base within a relatively short amount of time and communicated to users about air quality and smoke exposure risks while collecting valuable information on experienced symptoms. Data collected from users reinforces that wildfires are an important environmental public health issue. Smoke Sense will continue in the 2018 wildfire season.