Programs and Communities
The collection collates collections by schools, centers, programs, and research groups.
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Maricopa County, Arizona, anchor to the fastest growing megapolitan area in the United States, is located in a hot desert climate where extreme temperatures are associated with elevated risk of mortality. Continued urbanization in the region will impact atmospheric temperatures and, as a result, potentially affect human health. We aimed to quantify the number of excess deaths attributable to heat in Maricopa County based on three future urbanization and adaptation scenarios and multiple exposure variables.
Two scenarios (low and high growth projections) represent the maximum possible uncertainty range associated with urbanization in central Arizona, and a third represents the adaptation of high-albedo cool roof technology. Using a Poisson regression model, we related temperature to mortality using data spanning 1983–2007. Regional climate model simulations based on 2050-projected urbanization scenarios for Maricopa County generated distributions of temperature change, and from these predicted changes future excess heat-related mortality was estimated. Subject to urbanization scenario and exposure variable utilized, projections of heat-related mortality ranged from a decrease of 46 deaths per year (− 95%) to an increase of 339 deaths per year (+ 359%).
Projections based on minimum temperature showed the greatest increase for all expansion and adaptation scenarios and were substantially higher than those for daily mean temperature. Projections based on maximum temperature were largely associated with declining mortality. Low-growth and adaptation scenarios led to the smallest increase in predicted heat-related mortality based on mean temperature projections. Use of only one exposure variable to project future heat-related deaths may therefore be misrepresentative in terms of direction of change and magnitude of effects. Because urbanization-induced impacts can vary across the diurnal cycle, projections of heat-related health outcomes that do not consider place-based, time-varying urban heat island effects are neglecting essential elements for policy relevant decision-making.
The City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department partnered with the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service at Arizona State University (ASU) and researchers from various ASU schools to evaluate the effectiveness, performance, and community perception of the new pavement coating. The data collection and analysis occurred across multiple neighborhoods and at varying times across days and/or months over the course of one year (July 15, 2020–July 14, 2021), allowing the team to study the impacts of the surface treatment under various weather conditions.
Underserved communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change, and current inequities present in our emissions-heavy transportation system only exacerbate these burdens. As of 2019, transportation accounted for 29% of total GHG emissions in the United States. Electric Vehicles (EVs) present an opportunity to lower emissions associated with transportation, as EVs emit zero tailpipe emissions. We define electric vehicles as cars, bikes, scooters, buses, and rail systems. As transitions to EVs occur, action can be taken to adopt more equitable practices within the transportation space, specifically in historically underserved communities.
In partnership with The City of Phoenix’s EV Department, and with additional support from the Housing Department, the EV Changers team developed a transportation-oriented survey to be distributed to the Edison-Eastlake Community (EEC) in Phoenix. Efforts to understand the EEC’s needs will lend to more efficient, connected, and accessible transportation in the upcoming transportation electrification movement.
Methods: Primary care providers have an opportunity to screen for sleep disorders as part of the intake process during an office visit. The Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ), has been proposed as guide to determine if a sleep disorder is affecting quality of life. This descriptive study randomly recruited 20 participants from a community health center. A 10-question survey was given to individuals over the age of 18 who can write and speak English and either have a body mass index (BMI) over 30, hypertension (HTN) or diabetes type II (DMII). Demographic information evaluated included age, gender, HTN, DMII, BMI>30, marital status, sleeping alone, employment type, race, type of insurance, how many times do they wake up at night, the average number of hours slept per night and does the person work night shift.
Results: The study used a qualitative approach with a descriptive methodology; statistical analysis consisted of proportions, means and standard deviation to describe the study population. Participant age ranged from 33 to 72 years (M=50.1, SD= 11.32). Sixty percent were both female and married/living with partner. Despite being married/living with partner, 50% slept alone. A Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was a significant difference in four of the questions in the FOSQ-10 in which functional outcomes were not affected by being sleepy or tired.
Conclusion: The FOSQ-10 may serve a role in identifying patients who might benefit from a sleep study. The inclusion of a sleep disorder screening tool may increase the specificity and sensitivity of the intervention and the ability to yield data that will objectively measure disordered sleep.
Domestic energy is an important component of our day to day lives and is something we cannot live without. Imagine how life would be without a means to cook our food, to warm our house, life would be unbearable. As we enjoy these comforts rarely do we stop to think what the opportunity cost is. For those using renewable sources, it is not a big issue, but for those who rely on wood fuel, they have to strike a delicate balance between need for fuel and the need to conserve the greatest support systems of their livelihoods, the forests. The main source of energy for households in many developing countries is biomass, mainly from forests and woodlands. The continued use of firewood and charcoal fuel puts a strain on forests, resulting in adverse effects on the environment such as prolonged droughts, loss of biodiversity, dwindling water resources, changing weather patterns among other sustainability challenges. An alternative to firewood to charcoal lies in biochar briquettes. This paper discusses the role of biochar briquettes in mitigating climate change and serves as a step by step guide on how biochar briquettes may be produced.
Disease burden is higher in the United States than in comparable countries. The Patient Self Determination Act of 1990 requires healthcare facilities to provide Advance Care Planning (ACP) information to all Medicare patients. The healthcare staffs’ (n=7) commitment to 3-days of ACP training increase ACP rates in the primary care setting. The Medicare Incentive Program is the platform for this initiative. This quantitative project used a valid and reliable pre and posttest design that consisted of 27 items on a Likert-scale. A 3.5-month chart audit (n=91) was conducted to assess the completion rate. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the demographic data.
The results of the two-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank test were significant based on an alpha value of 0.05, V = 0.00, z = -2.37, p = .018. There was a significant increase in the post-readiness to change average scores. A Mann Whitney test was used to analyze the statistically significant difference between the averages in two ACP types and electronic health record documentation (EHR). Staff did not always code (Mdn = 0.00) but they documented in the EHR (Mdn =1.00; 512.00, p = 0.003). ACP discussion was performed 63% of the time during Annual Wellness Visits (AWV), and there was a 49% increase in the EHR documentation. Trained staff are key stakeholders in guiding ACP conversations. They understand the barriers, impact, and consequences related to the lack of advance directives.