Principal Investigator: Martha Moore-Monroy, Assistant Research Professor, College of Public Health 

Community Partner: Aida Garcia, Winchester Heights Health Organization President and Community Health Worker

Co-Investigator: Chris Lim,  Assistant Professor, College of Public Health 

UA College: College of Public Health | Community Organization: Winchester Heights Health Organization (Willcox)

WA Community-Led System for Monitoring, Mapping, and Mitigating Heat and Air Pollution Disparities in Winchester Heights: Winchester Action Team for Climate and Health (Project WATCH) 

Winchester Heights is a rural, unincorporated, predominantly Latino farmworker community facing significant environmental health inequities with limited access to basic services and antiquated housing heightening exposures to extreme heat, poor air quality (PM2.5 from unpaved roads and trash burning), and pesticides. This community-engaged study, conducted in partnership with the Winchester Heights Health Organization (WHHO), aims to identify the health impacts of these exposures to inform a long-term, community-engaged action plan. The project utilizes a citizen scientist approach co-led by Community Health Workers (CHWs) and high school youth. Specifically, we will implement a CHW-led weekly self-reported symptom survey to create a Symptom Surveillance System linking respiratory, heat, and pesticide outcomes with sensor data. Youth citizen scientists will deploy a network of 20 PurpleAir sensors (indoor/outdoor) across 10 homes to quantify exposures and track temperature. Furthermore, we will test and evaluate low-cost, effective DIY air cleaner designs under local conditions. To capture lived experience and context, we will employ community-based action research including Photovoice and River of Life mapping to narratively contextualize exposures and spatially map pollution sources. The highly qualified research team brings expertise in Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and community-engaged research, leveraging low-cost, accessible technology. A primary deliverable is the development of maps integrating symptom and exposure data with a call to action, ultimately building capacity for the community-campus partnership to obtain extramural funding to sustain future efforts.

SCORCH Pilot Project Awardee | Track 2: Applied Climate & Health Action Community Partnership Research

Award: $50,000