Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
Front Public Health. 2021 Mar 5;9:606430. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.606430. eCollection 2021.
Native American populations face considerable health disparities, especially among those who live on reservations, where access to healthcare, education, and safe housing can be limited. Previous research on tribal housing has raised concerns about housing construction, damage, and possible linkage to adverse health effects (e.g., asthma). This community-based participatory research (CBPR) project investigated indoor air quality issues on two Rocky Mountain west reservations. At the onset of the project, the research team formed a partnership with community advisory boards (CABs) consisting of representatives from tribal councils and community members. Research design, implementation, and dissemination all took place in full collaboration with the CABs following approval through official tribal resolutions. Residential homes were monitored for particulate matter with diameter <2.5 microns (PM) and radon concentrations. Low-cost air quality sensors and activated charcoal radon test kits were placed in tribal households for 6-8 days. A large amount of data were below the sensor limit of quantification (LOQ), but several homes had daily averages that exceeded suggested PM2.5 guidelines, suggestive of the potential for high exposure. Additionally, nearly half of all homes sampled had radon levels above the EPA action level, with mitigation activities initiated for the most concerning homes. Findings from this study indicate the need for future community-wide assessments to determine the magnitude and patterns of indoor air quality issues.
美国原住民人口面临着相当大的健康差距，尤其是那些生活在保留地的人，他们获得医疗保健、教育和安全住房的机会可能有限。之前关于部落住房的研究引起了人们对住房建设、损坏以及与不良健康影响（例如哮喘）可能相关的问题的关注。本项基于社区的参与性研究（CBPR）项目调查了落基山脉西部两个保留地的室内空气质量问题。在项目开始时，研究团队与由部落委员会代表和社区成员组成的社区咨询委员会（CAB）建立了合作伙伴关系。在经过部落决议的正式批准后，研究设计、实施和传播都与 CAB 充分合作完成。对住宅房屋进行了直径<2.5 微米的颗粒物（PM）和氡浓度监测。在部落家庭中放置了低成本的空气质量传感器和活性炭氡测试套件，持续监测 6-8 天。大量数据低于传感器的定量限（LOQ），但有几个家庭的日平均值超过了建议的 PM2.5 指南，表明存在高暴露的可能性。此外，所有抽样家庭中几乎有一半的氡水平超过了 EPA 的行动水平，最令人担忧的家庭已经开始采取缓解措施。这项研究的结果表明，需要进行未来的社区范围评估，以确定室内空气质量问题的严重程度和模式。
