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Picture of Keisha

Picture of Keisha

ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ACROSS
URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE DEEP SOUTH

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Birmingham and West Central Alabama communities are prioritizing environmental concerns and conducting research with academic partners to examine exposure to heat and air pollution.

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Supported in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Human Health and Services, United States Government

Twice-a-year community advisory board (CAB) meetings develop topics for research, review progress of the research, and develop topics and plan yearly capacity building workshops. Minutes from previous CAB meetings can be found on this page.

As part of the research, we measure community-level heat and air pollution exposure by setting up stationary monitoring sites where residents frequent (such as near community centers, schools, grocery stores). We asked the CAB to determine good locations for these monitors.  We put out the monitors during the Summer and collect them in Fall. See the diagram on the right of a stationary temperature/ humidity monitor attached to a signpost. 

In the summer of 2017, we measured personal heat by recruiting residents to wear monitors clipped to their shoes for 1 week. 

The ultimate goal of this project is to identify specific exposure and behavioral risk factors for heat-related illnesses in urban and rural locations.  We hope this will aid in developing prevention strategies more tailored to the needs of these communities.

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