Combining Community Engagement and Scientific Approaches in Next-Generation Monitor Siting: The Case of the Imperial County Community Air Network

Michelle Wong, Esther Bejarano, Graeme Carvlin, Katie Fellows, Galatea King, Humberto Lugo, Michael Jerrett, Dan Meltzer, Amanda Northcross, Luis Olmedo, Edmund Seto, Alexa Wilkie and Paul English
Additional contact information
Michelle Wong: California Environmental Health Tracking Program, Public Health Institute, 850 Marina Bay Parkway P-3, Richmond, CA 94804, USA
Esther Bejarano: Comite Civico del Valle, 235 Main St, Brawley, CA 92227, USA
Graeme Carvlin: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Chair’s Office F463, Box 357234, Seattle, WA 98195-7234, USA
Katie Fellows: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Chair’s Office F463, Box 357234, Seattle, WA 98195-7234, USA
Galatea King: California Environmental Health Tracking Program, Public Health Institute, 850 Marina Bay Parkway P-3, Richmond, CA 94804, USA
Humberto Lugo: Comite Civico del Valle, 235 Main St, Brawley, CA 92227, USA
Michael Jerrett: UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, 56-070B CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Dan Meltzer: California Environmental Health Tracking Program, Public Health Institute, 850 Marina Bay Parkway P-3, Richmond, CA 94804, USA
Amanda Northcross: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave. NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Luis Olmedo: Comite Civico del Valle, 235 Main St, Brawley, CA 92227, USA
Edmund Seto: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Chair’s Office F463, Box 357234, Seattle, WA 98195-7234, USA
Alexa Wilkie: California Environmental Health Tracking Program, Public Health Institute, 850 Marina Bay Parkway P-3, Richmond, CA 94804, USA
Paul English: California Department of Public Health, 850 Marina Bay Parkway P-3, Richmond, CA 94804, USA

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Air pollution continues to be a global public health threat, and the expanding availability of small, low-cost air sensors has led to increased interest in both personal and crowd-sourced air monitoring. However, to date, few low-cost air monitoring networks have been developed with the scientific rigor or continuity needed to conduct public health surveillance and inform policy. In Imperial County, California, near the U.S./Mexico border, we used a collaborative, community-engaged process to develop a community air monitoring network that attains the scientific rigor required for research, while also achieving community priorities. By engaging community residents in the project design, monitor siting processes, data dissemination, and other key activities, the resulting air monitoring network data are relevant, trusted, understandable, and used by community residents. Integration of spatial analysis and air monitoring best practices into the network development process ensures that the data are reliable and appropriate for use in research activities. This combined approach results in a community air monitoring network that is better able to inform community residents, support research activities, guide public policy, and improve public health. Here we detail the monitor siting process and outline the advantages and challenges of this approach.

Keywords: air monitors; community air monitoring; sensors; community-engaged research; air quality; particulate matter; citizen science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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