Partnering for Public Engagement in Wildfire Smoke Science - Increasing Effective Public Health Risk Communication through Active Partnerships

This abstract does not reflect EPA policy. Wildfire smoke impacts air quality and adversely impacts public health. Led by researchers at the U.S. EPA, Smoke Sense is a citizen science research initiative that aims to improve public health risk communication and reduce the negative public health impacts of smoke events across the country. Smoke Sense¿is an innovative approach to¿applied research on¿health risk messaging by engaging with individuals as citizen scientists. Central to the project is the Smoke Sense mobile app which is freely available on iOS and Android phones. Within the Smoke Sense app participants have access to interactive modules on current and forecast air quality, public health educational information about wildfire smoke, and reporting forms to share their perceptions of and experiences with smoke. Since 2017, over 45k individuals have downloaded the app and participated in the Smoke Sense project. In a successful citizen science effort participant engagement is key. Throughout its the first four years, the Smoke Sense project has engaged tens of thousands of individuals and been widely recognized for its approach to applied research and the impact on participants. To sustain and grow the Smoke Sense study, the core research team continues to both maintain engagement among current participants and invite new individuals to participate. One approach to encouraging continued engagement over time is working with partner organizations that can share information about Smoke Sense with the individuals in their state and local communities. To this end, we are developing tailored reports to share with our partners and that are based on data submitted through the app by individuals in that state from 2018-2020. Each report will synthesize what we learned from those individuals including their experiences, risk perceptions, and behaviors related to wildfire smoke. Additionally, we will conduct follow-up with each partner to learn about the utility of the reports and the overall communication strategy prompted by the findings. With the goal of Smoke Sense focusing on effective communication strategies, involving our partners has been very important for the effort thus far and will continue to support tailored approaches to risk communication.

Impact/Purpose

A citizen science approach to improving complex social issues like community health creates opportunities for issue engagement and awareness among individuals who are directly impacted. However, the extent to which a citizen science approach is successful at influencing engagement is a function of effective communication and outreach about the project. Insights from the field of community psychology suggest that individuals are more likely to develop a sense of belonging and subsequently stronger commitment and support of a citizen science project when they engage in multiple ways and with other participants. Smoke Sense is an EPA-led citizen science project that aims to reduce the public health burden of wildfire smoke through individual and community system level change. This poster presentation will explain how the Smoke Sense team is creating an environment for increased effective communication strategies and community outreach through sharing participant data with the public health officials of states that have higher resident participation. By sharing these data and related interpretations, we hope to support individuals in our partner public health organizations by providing information that may assist them in developing tailored risk communication messaging related to reducing the public health burden of wildfire smoke.

Citation

Hano, M., M. Kirshner, K. Bannantine, AND A. Rappold. Partnering for Public Engagement in Wildfire Smoke Science - Increasing Effective Public Health Risk Communication through Active Partnerships. NCBREATHE 2021, NA, NC, April 06 - 07, 2021.