Visualizing Highway Pollution: A Study of Inter-generational Health Communication

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目开发了一种新的健康沟通干预措施，旨在改善波士顿唐人街居民获得有关该社区暴露于交通相关空气污染的复杂科学信息，这是一个重要的健康因素。拟议的工作是发展性的，旨在制定和完善干预措施，测试其在社区中的可接受性，并为更大规模的试验提供初步数据。由于华埠居民英语水平和电脑使用的限制，他们可能不会从媒体渠道了解空气污染。在我们的干预中，我们将开发一个基于地图的唐人街颗粒污染的计算机可视化。该软件的扩展版Weave （iWeave.org）将显示根据社区高速公路暴露与健康评估（CAFEH; R01 ES015462）得出的估计污染水平。计算机可视化界面上的菜单将采用中英文双语。用户将能够指出唐人街的位置，指示器将显示该位置的超细颗粒物污染水平，并使用不同风格的污染密度描述或大或小。互动动画还将显示，当一个人关闭家中的窗户，在污染程度较低的时间和地点行走，或在家中安装过滤或空调设备时，污染程度会降低。然后，我们将与我们的社区合作伙伴，一家唐人街服务机构，共同创造一种跨代和文化上合适的方法，使用可视化工具来了解空气污染。在该机构举办的青年领导力项目以及成人英语语言和计算机扫盲课程中，我们将首先培训12名双语高中学生使用可视化工具。随后，这些高中学生将教50名成年中国移民如何使用这个工具，并让他们参与有关污染及其对健康影响的互动演示和对话。沟通干预是重要的，因为它创造了一些创新。将整个社区的细颗粒物浓度可视化并向外行人展示，这是以前从未尝试过的。由于与交通微粒有关的污染是看不见的、无味的，但也是有毒的，使其从繁忙的交通来源分散到普通人身上，可能对影响他们对问题的兴趣和反应至关重要。我们还将开发新的交互式动画可视化，向波士顿唐人街低文化水平和不懂英语的居民介绍环境健康危害和他们可以采取的保护自己的步骤。基于社区的环境健康代际协作学习的计算机可视化方法是一种新方法。为了评估，首先，我们将使用前后设计和关键信息提供者访谈来评估参与干预对公路污染知识，环境健康信息关注和主观计算技能的影响。其次，我们将采用经过验证的公民措施来评估关于公路污染及其健康影响的知识表达的自我效能的增加。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project develops a novel health communication intervention aimed at improving Boston Chinatown residents' access to complex scientific information about this community's exposure to traffic-related air pollution, an important health factor. The proposed work is developmental, aimed at producing and refining the intervention, testing its acceptability in the community and producing preliminary data for a larger trial. Because of limitations in English proficiency and access to computers among Chinatown residents they are likely not learning about air pollution from their media sources. In our intervention, we will develop a map-based computer visualization of particulate pollution across Chinatown. The extension to the software, Weave (iWeave.org), will display estimated pollution levels derived from findings of the Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH; R01 ES015462). Menus on the computer visualizations will be bilingual in Chinese and English. The user will be able to point to locations in Chinatown and an indicator will show levels of ultrafine particulate pollution for that location using styled depictions of greater or lsser density of pollution. Interactive animations will also show lowered pollution exposure when a person closes windows in homes, walks at times and locations with lowered exposure, or installs filtration or air condition devices in homes. We will then co-create with our community partner, a Chinatown service agency, an inter-generational and culturally appropriate method of using the visualization tool to learn about air pollution. At a youth leadership program and in adult English language and computer literacy classes held at the agency, we will first train 12 bilingual high school students to use the visualization tool. Subsequently, these high school students will teach 50 adult Chinese immigrants how to use the tool and engage them in interactive demonstrations and conversations about the pollution and its health effects. The communication intervention is significant because it creates several innovations. The visualization of fine particulate concentrations across a community for presentation to lay people has not been previously attempted. Because particulate traffic related pollution is invisible and odorless, but also toxic, making its dispersion from heavy traffic sources apparent to lay people may be critical to influencing their interest in and response to the problem. We will also develop new interactive animated visualizations informing low-literacy and non-English-proficient residents of Boston Chinatown about environmental health hazards and steps they can take to protect themselves. The method of community-based intergenerational collaborative learning about environmental health through computer visualization is new. To evaluate, first, we will use a pre-post design and key informant interviews to assess the effect of participation in the intervention on knowledge about highway pollution, attention to environmental health information, and subjective numeracy skills. Second, we will adapt validated civic measures to assess increases in self-efficacy of expression of knowledge learned about highway pollution and its health effects.