Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

Johnston, Fay H.; Wheeler, Amanda; Williamson, Grant J.; Campbell, Sharon L.; Jones, Penelope; Koolhof, Iain S.; Lucani, Christopher; Cooling, Nick; Bowman, David M. J. S.

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aab1e6

Cited by 46 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…Consistent with international calls for an approach to assessing, forecasting and communicating air quality that integrates the physical, chemical and biological components 52 , one Australian smartphone app (AirRater) tracks exposure to three key environmental hazards -temperature, air particles (PM 2.5 ) and aeroallergens. 53 Such technologies improve patient understanding of how environmental conditions affect their health, and provide them with a means to better manage their disease. 53 • Following the deadly epidemic thunderstorm asthma event in Melbourne in November 2016, and the injection of $15 million by the Victorian State Government towards implementing a multipronged response that would avoid another such event, a large and multidisciplinary Australian team has developed and put into practice the world's first thunderstorm asthma forecasting system.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and allergy in Australia: an innovative, high-income country, at potential risk

Beggs

2018

Pub Health Res Pract

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Objectives: The impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases are important and potentially serious in Australia. Australia is highly vulnerable to such impacts because of its very high prevalence of allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis, and allergic sensitisation to environmental allergens such as certain pollens and fungal spores. This article aims to review published research on the impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases from an Australian perspective. Methods: Research on climate change, allergens and allergy was reviewed. Recent global assessments of the topic were consulted, and supplemented with database searches to identify research published since the assessments were done, as well as research with an Australian focus. The databases used were Web of Science and Scopus. Only research published since the year 2000 was included. Results: The impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases are many and varied. Impacts on pollen include effects on pollen production and atmospheric pollen concentration, pollen seasonality, pollen allergenicity, and the dispersion and spatial distribution of pollen. Similarly, there is evidence for effects on fungal spore production, seasonality and allergenicity. There are also likely effects on indoor moisture and mould growth. Beyond these respiratory allergens, climate change may also affect food allergens, stinging insect allergens and contact allergens. All these changes could affect allergic diseases, in particular allergic respiratory diseases such as allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis. Conclusions: A large and sophisticated body of research exists from which to gauge both current and potential future impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases. However, most, if not all, of this is from outside Australia. Australian-focused research is therefore urgently needed. Australia's vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change on allergic diseases is compounded by the precarious nature of aeroallergen monitoring, reporting and forecasting in this country. But Australia has an impressive wealth of relevant experience and expertise, and has the potential to address the challenge of both current and future impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and allergy in Australia: an innovative, high-income country, at potential risk

Beggs

2018

Pub Health Res Pract

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“…In epidemiology, citizen science approaches have been used to enable the public to actively participate in health surveillance (Deepwater Horizon spill, Sullivan et al (2018)) or in observing environmental changes. In Tasmania, researchers developed an AirRater app that integrates symptom surveillance, environmental monitoring, and notifications of environmental conditions such as wildfire smoke and pollen (F. H. Johnston et al, 2018). While similar to Smoke Sense in its common aim of reducing health impacts, AirRater does not focus on behavioral responses and education but has also been widely used in response to environmental conditions.…”

Section: Advances Using Citizen Science and Smartphone Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smoke Sense Initiative Leverages Citizen Science to Address the Growing Wildfire‐Related Public Health Problem

et al. 2019

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Smoke Sense is a citizen science project with investigative, educational, and action-oriented objectives at the intersection of wildland fire smoke and public health. Participants engage with a smartphone application to explore current and forecast visualizations of air quality, learn about how to protect health from wildfire smoke, and record their smoke experiences, health symptoms, and behaviors taken to reduce their exposures to smoke. Through participation in the project, individuals engage in observing changes in their environment and recording changes in their health, thus facilitating progression on awareness of health effects of air pollution and adoption of desired health-promoting behaviors. Participants can also view what others are reporting. Data from the pilot season (1 August 2017 to 7 January 2018; 5,598 downloads) suggest that there is a clear demand for personally relevant data during wildfire episodes motivated by recognition of environmental hazard and the personal concern for health. However, while participants shared clear perceptions of the environmental hazard and health risks in general, they did not consistently recognize their own personal health risk. The engagement in health protective behavior was driven in response to symptoms rather than as preventive courses of action. We also observed clear differences in the adoption likelihood of various health protective behaviors attributed to barriers and perceived benefits of these actions. As users experience a greater number and severity of symptoms, the perceived benefits of taking health protective actions exceeded the costs associated with the barriers and thus increased adoption of those actions. Based on pilot season data, we summarize key insights which may improve current health risk communications in nudging individuals toward health protective behavior; there is a need to increase personal awareness of risk and compelling evidence that health protective behaviors are beneficial.Plain Language Summary An observed increase in wildfire smoke exposure highlights the need for best practices in promoting protective health behaviors during wildfire smoke events. Understanding perceptions, motivations, and barriers to behavioral change (physical, social, or financial) among impacted individuals can provide insights into how to improve health risk communication and achieve better public health outcomes during smoke events. However, almost nothing is known about how current recommendations are perceived, adopted, and adhered to by individuals impacted by smoke. Smoke Sense is a citizen science project which aims to engage participants by encouraging them to observe their environment and record changes in their health, thus facilitating progression on awareness of health effects of air pollution and adoption of desired health-promoting behaviors. We examined the feasibility of engaging smartphone users in a citizen science study and investigated the range of behavioral responses taken when experiencing smoke and health symptoms. Based on p...

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“…It aims to prevent exceedances of the 25 µg/m 3 national air quality standard for 24-h average concentrations of PM 2.5 , and is generally considered to be effective [54]. Additionally, communications strategies are being developed to help susceptible individuals manage smoke exposures and health impacts using mainstream media, social media, and a smart-phone application [55].…”

Section: Tasmania-reliance On Prescribed Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Can Air Quality Management Drive Sustainable Fuels Management at the Temperate Wildland–Urban Interface?

Bowman

Daniels

Johnston

et al. 2018

Fire

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Sustainable fire management has eluded all industrial societies. Given the growing number and magnitude of wildfire events, prescribed fire is being increasingly promoted as the key to reducing wildfire risk. However, smoke from prescribed fires can adversely affect public health. We propose that the application of air quality standards can lead to the development and adoption of sustainable fire management approaches that lower the risk of economically and ecologically damaging wildfires while improving air quality and reducing climate-forcing emissions. For example, green fire breaks at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) can resist the spread of wildfires into urban areas. These could be created through mechanical thinning of trees, and then maintained by targeted prescribed fire to create biodiverse and aesthetically pleasing landscapes. The harvested woody debris could be used for pellets and other forms of bioenergy in residential space heating and electricity generation. Collectively, such an approach would reduce the negative health impacts of smoke pollution from wildfires, prescribed fires, and combustion of wood for domestic heating. We illustrate such possibilities by comparing current and potential fire management approaches in the temperate and environmentally similar landscapes of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada and the island state of Tasmania in Australia.

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Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

Cited by 46 publications

References 48 publications

Climate change and allergy in Australia: an innovative, high-income country, at potential risk

Climate change and allergy in Australia: an innovative, high-income country, at potential risk

Smoke Sense Initiative Leverages Citizen Science to Address the Growing Wildfire‐Related Public Health Problem

Can Air Quality Management Drive Sustainable Fuels Management at the Temperate Wildland–Urban Interface?

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