Millions of pregnant women and children are exposed to dangerous levels of wildfire smoke in the US every year, a public health crisis predicted to accelerate in coming years. While there exist effective methods for reducing wildfire smoke exposure, many families face barriers to implementing recommendations that could protect child health. We will describe a study in the rural, agricultural Yakima Valley in Washington state aimed at understanding the barriers in order to develop programs that could best support families in future wildfire smoke events. We’ll highlight the partnership between the University of Washington and a local university, Heritage University, and engagement of undergraduates from the community in research activities and pursuit of their own original research using project data. Finally, we’ll discuss how both the research findings and our unique approach to collaborating with the local community could be applied to help other regions of the US being impacted by wildfire smoke.
Presenters:
Dr. Christine Loftus is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is an environmental epidemiology researching the impacts of air pollution and wildfire smoke on child health.
Javier Silva is a pursuing his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Washington, Seattle. He grew up in the Yakima Valley.
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- Describe the human health risks posed by growing wildfire smoke exposures in the US, especially the risks to child health.
- Identify approaches to preventing early-life exposures to wildfire smoke
- Assess the challenges to developing and delivering sustainable and effective interventions that protect children from wildfire smoke, including in vulnerable communities
- Describe how community-engaged research partnerships can facilitate