The Duwamish Air Improvement Study for Youth - DAISY
Taking aim to high rates of childhood asthma
UW researchers and Duwamish Valley community advocates have received a five-year grant from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to help reduce symptoms of asthma in children who live in the Seattle neighborhoods of South Park and Georgetown.
Children who live in the Duwamish Valley have the highest rates of asthma hospitalization in Seattle, according to a 2013 community-led study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The study also found that life expectancy in the Duwamish Valley neighborhoods is eight years shorter than the Seattle average and that levels of air pollutants like diesel and particulate matter is much higher than the city average. Air pollution is a leading cause of asthma attacks in both children and adults and can infiltrate homes and classrooms where children spend most of their indoor time.
The NIEHS grant will fund a local community-based air quality monitoring network to measure pollutants from cars and truck traffic and will provide low-cost air filters to families with children with asthma in South Park and Georgetown to help clean the air in their homes. Improvements in air quality in the homes of participating families and changes in asthma symptoms in their children will be measured to determine the effectiveness of the air filter intervention. The project will also fund a local Community Advocacy Team which will help guide the placement of air monitors and determine how best to use the study results to improve air quality and children’s health through policy changes and local actions.
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“People living in the 98108, the ZIP code that includes the Duwamish Valley and Beacon Hill, are nearly four times more likely to end up in the hospital with asthma than King County residents overall, according to University of Washington epidemiologist Anjum Hajat.
“There are tremendous inequities in terms of asthma and many other health outcomes”
Community Advocacy Team Members for DAISY
Community Voice is key!
Meet our Community Advocacy Team CAT members.
This is a a community-engaged researchthat prioritizes engaging and empowering local youth and other community members of color.