Air Aware: Improving Use of an Existing Air Quality and Health Tool.

Exposure to air pollutants is a significant health risk for individuals with asthma, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Measures such as limiting time outdoors or performing less strenuous tasks when air quality levels are better can mitigate these risks, but only if people are aware of both these recommendations and how to know when air quality is best, and worst. Formative audience assessment determined that applications developed for mobile devices are the optimal way to provide this information, but knowledge of the existing United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partners' AirNow tool was minimal.

COVID-19 response by the Hopi Tribe: impact of systems improvement during the first wave on the second wave of the pandemic.

The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation home to ~7500 Hopi persons living primarily in 12 remote villages. The Hopi Tribe, like many other American Indian nations, has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. On 18 May 2020, a team from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was deployed on the request of the tribe in response to increases in COVID-19 cases.

Mold clean-up practices vary by sociodemographic and allergy factors.

We examined mold clean-up practices in a general population (not selected on history of natural disaster). We used a population-based survey (n= 3,624) to assess associations between sociodemographic/ housing/ respiratory health variables and mold clean-up, PPE use, and cleaning agent use. Bleach was the most commonly used cleaning agent with approximately 90% of residents reporting using bleach alone or with other agents.

Air Quality Index and air quality awareness among adults in the United States.

Background: Information about local air quality is reported across the United States using air quality alerts such as the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index. However, the role of such alerts in raising awareness of air quality is unknown. We conducted this study to evaluate associations between days with Air Quality Index ≥101, corresponding to a categorization of air quality as unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, or hazardous, and air quality awareness among adults in the United States.

Communication channels for air quality alerts in the United States.

Short-term exposure to air pollution can result in acute health effects, particularly for individuals with respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Air quality alert programs that notify the public about high air pollution days are critical for susceptible populations. We assessed how U.

Patient-Provider Discussions About Strategies to Limit Air Pollution Exposures.

Introduction: Exposure to air pollution negatively affects respiratory and cardiovascular health. The objective of this study was to describe the extent to which health professionals report talking about how to limit exposure to air pollution during periods of poor air quality with their at-risk patients.

Methods: In 2015, a total of 1,751 health professionals completed an online survey and reported whether they talk with their patients about limiting their exposure to air pollution.

Air Quality Awareness Among U.S. Adults With Respiratory and Heart Disease.

Introduction: Poor air quality affects respiratory and cardiovascular health. Information about health risks associated with outdoor air quality is communicated to the public using air quality alerts. This study was conducted to assess associations of existing respiratory and heart disease with three aspects of air quality awareness: awareness of air quality alerts, discussing with a health professional strategies to reduce air pollution exposure, and avoiding busy roads to reduce air pollution exposure when walking, biking, or exercising outdoors.

Vital Signs: Asthma in Children - United States, 2001-2016.

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic lung disease of childhood, affecting approximately 6 million children in the United States. Although asthma cannot be cured, most of the time, asthma symptoms can be controlled by avoiding or reducing exposure to asthma triggers (allergens and irritants) and by following recommendations for asthma education and appropriate medical care.

Methods: CDC analyzed asthma data from the 2001-2016 National Health Interview Survey for children aged 0-17 years to examine trends and demographic differences in health outcomes and health care use.

Characterization of Carbon Monoxide Exposure During Hurricane Sandy and Subsequent Nor'easter.

Objective: Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas produced by fossil fuel combustion. On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy moved ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing widespread morbidity and mortality, $30 to $50 billion in economic damage, and 8.5 million households to be without power.

Asthma education: different viewpoints elicited by qualitative and quantitative methods.

Objective: This project began as a qualitative examination of how asthma education provided by health professionals could be improved. Unexpected qualitative findings regarding the use of Asthma Action Plans and the importance of insurance reimbursement for asthma education prompted further quantitative examination.

Methods: Qualitative individual interviews were conducted with primary care physicians in private practice who routinely provide initial diagnoses of asthma and focus groups were conducted with other clinicians in private primary care practices who routinely provide asthma education.

Storm-Related Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: An Investigation of Target Audience Knowledge and Risk Behaviors.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings in the United States consistently occur when residents improperly use portable gasoline-powered generators and other tools following severe storms and power outages. However, protective behaviors-such as installing CO alarms and placing generators more than 20 feet away from indoor structures-can prevent these poisonings. This study identified knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that lead consumers to adopt risk and protective behaviors for storm-related CO poisoning and post-storm generator use.

A review of disaster-related carbon monoxide poisoning: surveillance, epidemiology, and opportunities for prevention.

Objectives: We conducted a systematic literature review to better understand aspects of disaster-related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning surveillance and determine potentially effective prevention strategies.

Methods: This review included information from 28 journal articles on disaster-related CO poisoning cases occurring between 1991 and 2009 in the United States.

Results: We identified 362 incidents and 1888 disaster-related CO poisoning cases, including 75 fatalities.

Risk and protective behaviours for residential carbon monoxide poisoning.

Background: Unintentional, non-fire-related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of poisoning death and injury in the USA. Residential poisonings caused by faulty furnaces are the most common type of CO exposure. However, these poisonings are largely preventable with annual furnace inspections and CO alarm installation.

Attitudes about carbon monoxide safety in the United States: results from the 2005 and 2006 HealthStyles Survey.

Objectives: We sought to identify attitudes and behaviors related to carbon monoxide (CO) safety that can be targeted with public health prevention strategies in the U.S.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added questions about (1) proper placement of gas-powered generators, (2) maintenance of fuel-burning appliances, and (3) use of CO detectors to the 2005 and 2006 HealthStyles national health marketing surveys.

Public communication in unplanned biomass burning events.

Public communication related to emergency, unplanned, or "wildfire" biomass burning is best understood as a function of the audience for that communication. Two enduring communication models, the Health Belief Model and the Stages of Change or Transtheoretical Model, are instructive in analyzing and preparing differing communication response strategies that are indicated for communities with varying degrees of experience in responding to unplanned biomass burning smoke events.

Mold prevention strategies and possible health effects in the aftermath of hurricanes and major floods.

Extensive water damage after major hurricanes and floods increases the likelihood of mold contamination in buildings. This report provides information on how to limit exposure to mold and how to identify and prevent mold-related health effects. Where uncertainties in scientific knowledge exist, practical applications designed to be protective of a person's health are presented.

Acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage among infants. Recommendations from the Working Group for Investigation and Surveillance.

This report presents CDC's recommended case definitions and surveillance practices for Acute Idiopathic Pulmonary Hemorrhage (AIPH). In 1994 and 1997, CDC reported clusters of acute pulmonary hemorrhage (APH) among infants in Cleveland, Ohio. Subsequent reviews of these investigations identified shortcomings in the conduct of the studies and concluded that the investigations did not prove an association between APH among infants and exposure to molds.