
Studies & Reports
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Community Health Workers Connecting Home, School, Healthcare Systems, and the Community to Improve Asthma
A study, funded by the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, was conducted to determine if a community health worker (CHW) intervention to connect the primary care, home, and school for low-income, minority school-aged children with asthma and their caregivers improves asthma control. In Philadelphia, a randomized clinical trial followed 626 participants over…
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Study on How Low-Cost Air Cleaners Can Meaningfully Improve Indoor Air Quality
Air cleaners can reduce indoor exposure to fine particulate matter during wildfire smoke events, but cost and availability often limit access to commercial devices or high-rated filters for DIY solutions. In August 2024, researchers developed and tested affordable DIY air cleaners using common household fabrics to address this issue. In the journal, Science and Technology…
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Literature Review Reveals the Effects of Climate and Environmental Factors on Childhood Asthma
In the August 2024 edition of the Science of the Total Environment, researchers report on a systematic literature review they conducted to assess the epidemiological evidence using spatial and temporal methods on the impact of climate and environmental factors on childhood asthma. The findings reveal that “extreme weather events, including heatwaves and heavy rainfall, elevate…
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Study Details US Air Pollution Impacts from Warehousing
The July 2024, edition of Nature Communications includes a study, “Air pollution impacts from warehousing in the United States uncovered with satellite data,” highlighting the negative impacts of e-commerce and warehousing industries on air quality across the United States. In a comprehensive nationwide study examining traffic, associated air pollution, and environmental equity near warehouses in…
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HEI’s Newest Study on Air Pollution and Childhood Asthma Risk
In late 2024, the Health Effects Institute released, “Birth Cohort Studies of Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution in Early Life and Development of Asthma in Children and Adolescents from Denmark,” which examined children’s asthma in four Danish cohorts and focused on exposure to an array of air pollutants. The study results yielded an association…
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California Health Care Foundation Releases “Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity in California — 2024 Edition”
The California Health Care Foundation has released the 2024 Edition of its “Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity in California” report. The report highlights that people of color face barriers in accessing health care, receive suboptimal treatment, and are most likely to experience poor outcomes in the healthcare system. The report includes several asthma-related metrics.…
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Efficacy of Do-It-Yourself Portable Air Cleaners
In the June 2024 edition of Atmospheric Environment, an article examines the efficacy of do-it-yourself portable air cleaners. Researchers measured particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and more in communities exposed to wildfire and wood stove smoke while using do-it-yourself and commercial portable air cleaners. They found a reduction in particulate matter for both types of air…
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USC’s Environmental Justice Research Lab Studies Truck-Related Traffic and Pollution
The Environmental Justice Research Lab at the University of Southern California, along with the Southern California Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research Translation, the Viterbi School of Engineering, and the Coalition for a Safe Environment studied truck traffic in Wilmington in the South Bay, Los Angeles. Using infrared cameras, the researchers counted trucks and found…
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Researchers Examine Associations Between COVID and Asthma
Pediatrics contained an article in its April 2024 issue examining whether COVID infections modified pediatric asthma risk. Researchers used a sample of 27,423 children aged 1 – 16 over an 18 month observation window and found COVID “was not associated with new asthma diagnosis in children within the observation period.” They did find that being…