What happens when you give youth who love their mobile phones the ability to directly measure their exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke and other air pollutants in everyday locations?
That question will be driving a collaborative effort by researchers at San Diego State University and social science R&D company dfusion (Scotts Valley, CA). With funding from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, the two-year study, led by principal investigator Dr. Neil Klepeis, seeks to enhance youth engagement as Citizen Scientists who advocate for healthy environments and local clean-air policies.
The study, to be conducted in the greater Los Angeles and San Duse iego metro regions, will focus on approximately 140 youth aged 13+ and young adults who belong to priority African American and American Indian groups. Using a Human-Centered Design process, youth will be asked to work with researchers to design and test the mobile phone app + air sensor toolkit, evaluating their real-time personal exposures in residential and outdoor settings. The research team will be seeking broad input on youth and community needs, lived experience, and perspectives that will guide the iterative design of the evolving mobile app prototype.
In learning about their exposure, it is hoped youth will increase their awareness of air pollution health risks, share their findings with family members, neighbors, peers, community members, and advocate for healthy environments and local clean-air policies such as smoke-free apartments and outdoor dining. Upon completion of the study, the research team will be working with public health partners to disseminate the completed app and toolkit as part of ongoing clean-air campaigns.
At SDSU, Dr. Neil Klepeis (American Indian Studies) and Dr. Rachel Record (School of Communication) is the study’s principal investigator and co-investigator, respectively. dfusion’s Vice President, Tamara Kuhn is a co-investigator on this study, with dfusion’s Tyler Overby and Kalin Ramsey completing the development team.
This 2-year study is funded by the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) https://trdrp.org TRDRP Awarded Application Number: T32IP5020.
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA USA https://www.sdsu/edu/
San Diego State University Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA. https://www.foundation.sdsu.edu/
dfusion, inc. Scotts Valley, CA, USA. https://dfusioninc.com
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