Grantee Research Project Results
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 May 7, 2025
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
Description:
The overall goal of this project is to identify the most effective data sources and dissemination strategies for communicating wildfire smoke exposure risks and the drivers of the disconnect that exists between scientists and communities in regard to exposure and health risk communication.
Objective:
The first objective of the proposed 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 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.
Approach:
Objective 1 activities will center around conducting a multi-tier experiment to assess increasingly personalized forms of exposure risk communication. Exposure risk will be evaluated for community participants and will rely on publicly available models, local monitoring networks, and personal exposure data. Community participant feedback will drive the results of the study. Objective 2 activities will center on the collection of community knowledge regarding barriers to engagement with publicly available resources to assess and mitigate exposure risk. These barriers will be explored through regular meetings of an inclusive and diverse community advisory board.
Expected Results:
A community-aligned action plan for wildfire smoke exposure prevention will be developed to serve the residents of the Bay Area, whose daily lives are impacted by the worst air pollution in the U.S. The plan will recommend the data, visualizations, communication styles, and communication platforms that are most effective for exposure mitigation across all demographics, as identified in Objective 1 activities. The plan will pose solutions to cultural and behavioral challenges of exposure interventions, as learned from Objective 2 activities.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 2 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
exposure, vulnerability, decision making, monitoring, Bay Area CaliforniaProgress 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.