Communities catalyzing change with data to mitigate an invisible menace, traffic-related air pollution.

OBJECTIVES: To identify strategies and tactics communities use to translate research into environmental health action. METHODS: We employed a qualitative case study design to explore public health action conducted by residents, organizers, and public health planners in two Massachusetts communities as part of a community based participatory (CBPR) research study. Data sources included key informant interviews (n = 24), reports and direct observation of research and community meetings (n = 10) and project meeting minutes from 2016-2021. Data were coded deductively drawing on the community organizing and implementation frameworks. RESULTS: In Boston Chinatown, partners drew broad participation from community-based organizations, residents, and municipal leaders, which resulted in air pollution mitigation efforts being embedded in the master planning process. In Somerville, partners focused on change at multiple levels, developer behavior, and separate from the funded research, local legislative efforts, and litigation. CONCLUSIONS: CBPR affords communities the ability to environmental health efforts in a way that is locally meaningful, leveraging their respective strengths. External facilitation can support the continuity and sustainment of community led CBPR efforts.

Advancing Environmental Justice in the Community Using Charrette: A Case Study in Boston Chinatown.

Background: Community research partners in Boston Chinatown implemented a planning charrette as a part of a community-based participatory study focused on near highway research and public health action to mitigate traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). Charrettes are intensive workshops for solution-oriented design and planning used to bring together diverse stakeholders to address complex environmental health concerns. Methods: The planning charrette included three phases: (1) community meetings and resident interviews, (2) a planning charrette to address community health concerns and air pollution within larger community wellness goals, and (3) development of a Master Planning document with policy, project, and practice recommendations to guide future community advocacy. Outcomes: Intergenerational residents, community leaders, planners, researchers, and volunteers (N = 90) joined a day-long planning charrette to inform the Chinatown Master Plan. Workshops were informed by resident interviews focused on finding solutions to three resident identified priorities: Healthy Housing, Healthy Mobility, and Healthy Public Realm. Air pollution mitigation strategies were embedded in discussions around each priority area. Discussion: The charrette provided an opportunity for community stakeholders to voice concerns about TRAP as part of a new framework focused on health and wellness. Concerns about pedestrian safety, housing access, and expansion of green and recreational spaces were highlighted by participants as important areas for further development. Conclusions: Boston Chinatown residents reaffirmed their investment in the community by highlighting concerns about TRAP within the context of other health-related concerns. Charrettes offer a vehicle to advance environmental justice in communities through collective problem-solving and decision making.

Two communities, one highway and the fight for clean air: the role of political history in shaping community engagement and environmental health research translation.

BACKGROUND: This paper explores strategies to engage community stakeholders in efforts to address the effects of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental threats including emissions generated by major roadways. METHODS: Qualitative instrumental case study design was employed to examine how community-level factors in two Massachusetts communities, the City of Somerville and Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, influence the translation of research into practice to address TRAP exposure. Guided by the Interactive Systems Framework (ISF), we drew on three data sources: key informant interviews, observations and document reviews. Thematic analysis was used. RESULTS: Findings indicate political history plays a significant role in shaping community action. In Somerville, community organizers worked with city and state officials, and embraced community development strategies to engage residents. In contrast, Chinatown community activists focused on immediate resident concerns including housing and resident displacement resulting in more opposition to local municipal leadership. CONCLUSIONS: The ISF was helpful in informing the team's thinking related to systems and structures needed to translate research to practice. However, although municipal stakeholders are increasingly sympathetic to and aware of the health impacts of TRAP, there was not a local legislative or regulatory precedent on how to move some of the proposed TRAP-related policies into practice. As such, we found that pairing the ISF with a community organizing framework may serve as a useful approach for examining the dynamic relationship between science, community engagement and environmental research translation. Social workers and public health professionals can advance TRAP exposure mitigation by exploring the political and social context of communities and working to bridge research and community action.

CBPR Partnerships and Near-Roadway Pollution: A Promising Strategy to Influence the Translation of Research into Practice.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) aims to engage those traditionally left out of the research process. Partnering with community stakeholders to design, plan, implement and disseminate research can facilitate translation into practice. Using qualitative research methods, we set out to explore the policy and practice implications of a CBPR partnership focused on reducing exposure to near-roadway pollution. Key Informant interviews (n = 13) were conducted with individuals from various entities (municipal, state and private) for whom partners to the Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) provided technical assistance between 2013 and 2017. The findings indicate community research partnerships may have the power to inform local planning efforts. Developers and planners who the partnership consulted indicated a greater awareness of the implications of near-roadway exposure. They also described making changes in their practice based on study findings. The CAFEH partnership has demonstrated active attention to translating knowledge can influence local planning and practice, albeit with some challenges.

Increasing Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Infections among Female Juveniles: The Need for Collaboration to Improve Treatment.

BACKGROUND:  Youth in juvenile detention centers are at a high risk for sexually transmitted disease (STD). The current study assesses the trends of chlamydia and gonorrhea (GC) infections and treatment among females within a single county's juvenile correctional facilities. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of aggregate data of female adolescents between 12 and 18 years old who underwent STD screening from 2009 to 2016 in San Bernardino County. RESULTS: Chlamydia infections among adolescent females increased from 11.8% in 2009 to 17.0% in 2016 (p = 0.0002), and GC infections increased from 1.3% in 2009 to 6.0% in 2016 (p < 0.0001). Treatment rates of chlamydia were stable, ranging from 66.7% to 70.8% of positive female adolescents were treated between 2009 and 2016 (p=0.1752). The treatment rate for GC increased from 33% in 2009 to 78.3% in 2016, but annual trends were not statistically significant (p=0.8419). CONCLUSIONS: Chlamydia and GC infections among female adolescents discovered during routine screening upon booking into a county juvenile detention system increased over the study time period. Effective collaboration between public health and various community organizations is needed to improve awareness and prevention of STDs amongst at-risk adolescents.

Association of modeled long-term personal exposure to ultrafine particles with inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter has been linked to cardiovascular disease and systemic inflammatory responses; however, evidence is limited regarding the effects of long-term exposure to ultrafine particulate matter (UFP, <100nm). We used a cross-sectional study design to examine the association of long-term exposure to near-highway UFP with measures of systemic inflammation and coagulation. METHODS: We analyzed blood samples from 408 individuals aged 40-91years living in three near-highway and three urban background areas in and near Boston, Massachusetts. We conducted mobile monitoring of particle number concentration (PNC) in each area, and used the data to develop and validate highly resolved spatiotemporal (hourly, 20m) PNC regression models. These models were linked with participant time-activity data to determine individual time-activity adjusted (TAA) annual average PNC exposures. Multivariable regression modeling and stratification were used to assess the association between TAA-PNC and single peripheral blood measures of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor-necrosis factor alpha receptor II (TNFRII) and fibrinogen. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, sex, education, body mass index, smoking and race/ethnicity, an interquartile-range (10,000particles/cm(3)) increase in TAA-PNC had a positive non-significant association with a 14.0% (95% CI: -4.6%, 36.2%) positive difference in hsCRP, an 8.9% (95% CI: -0.4%, 10.9%) positive difference in IL-6, and a 5.1% (95% CI: -0.4%, 10.9%) positive difference in TNFRII. Stratification by race/ethnicity revealed that TAA-PNC had larger effect estimates for all three inflammatory markers and was significantly associated with hsCRP and TNFRII in white non-Hispanic, but not East Asian participants. Fibrinogen had a negative non-significant association with TAA-PNC. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest an association between annual average near-highway TAA-PNC and subclinical inflammatory markers of CVD risk.

Developing Community-Level Policy and Practice to Reduce Traffic-Related Air Pollution Exposure.

The literature consistently shows associations of adverse cardiovascular and pulmonary outcomes with residential proximity to highways and major roadways. Air monitoring shows that traffic-related pollutants (TRAP) are elevated within 200-400 m of these roads. Community-level tactics for reducing exposure include the following: 1) HEPA filtration; 2) Appropriate air-intake locations; 3) Sound proofing, insulation and other features; 4) Land-use buffers; 5) Vegetation or wall barriers; 6) Street-side trees, hedges and vegetation; 7) Decking over highways; 8) Urban design including placement of buildings; 9) Garden and park locations; and 10) Active travel locations, including bicycling and walking paths. A multidisciplinary design charrette was held to test the feasibility of incorporating these tactics into near-highway housing and school developments that were in the planning stages. The resulting designs successfully utilized many of the protective tactics and also led to engagement with the designers and developers of the sites. There is a need to increase awareness of TRAP in terms of building design and urban planning.

Evidence for the healthy immigrant effect in older Chinese immigrants: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous work has found that first-generation immigrants to developed nations tend to have better health than individuals born in the host country. We examined the evidence for the healthy immigrant effect and convergence of health status between Chinese immigrants (n = 147) and U.S. born whites (n = 167) participating in the cross-sectional Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health study and residing in the same neighborhoods. METHODS: We used bivariate and multivariate models to compare disease prevalence and clinical biomarkers. RESULTS: Despite an older average age and lower socioeconomic status, Chinese immigrants were less likely to have asthma (OR = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.09-0.48) or cardiovascular disease (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.20-0.94), had lower body mass index (BMI), lower inflammation biomarker levels, lower average sex-adjusted low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and higher average sex-adjusted high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of diabetes or hypertension. Duration of time in the U.S. was related to cardiovascular disease and asthma but was not associated with diabetes, hypertension, BMI, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, socioeconomic status, or health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The lower CVD and asthma prevalence among the Chinese immigrants may be partially attributed to healthier diets, more physical activity, lower BMI, and less exposure to cigarette smoke. First generation immigrant status may be protective even after about two decades.