Research Innovations using Sensor Technology to Improve Community Health (RISE Communities)

Low-cost air sensors offer tremendous opportunities for researchers and community members to better understand air quality at neighborhood, indoor, and personal levels. Though these devices are often marketed as easy-to-use, users face multiple technical challenges including maintenance, calibration, data management, and data visualization. These issues often lead community members and researchers to form community-academic partnerships within a community-engaged research (CEnR) framework. However, successful community-academic partnerships require time and training to set expectations, identify team member roles, develop team processes and shared mental models, and design a project that balances the needs of a community with the expectations of academic researchers. In recognition of both the opportunities and challenges of using low-cost sensors in CEnR, we propose an innovative program to foster successful community-academic partnerships and equip research teams with the technical skills and knowledge to successfully utilize low-cost sensors in communities impacted by with air quality concerns. Our program, Research Innovations using Sensor Technology to Improve Community Health (RISE Communities), will accomplish three specific aims using a combination of in-person training, experiential learning, and a social learning community. We will recruit community-academic teams (5 per year) from throughout the US and provide dedicated time and training to build trust, set expectations, promote sustainability, and engage in evaluation (Aim 1). In addition, experts in the use of low-cost sensors and their application in communities impacted by air quality concerns will provide in-person courses, workshops, and hands-on training in their use. This training will equip teams with the requisite foundational knowledge in research methods employing low-cost sensors including how to select the appropriate sensor(s) for their research questions, deploy them in their own communities, and translate the data to action (Aim 2). Throughout the program we will cultivate a community of practice to facilitate continued interaction among participants and program faculty and extend the learning beyond the in- person training (Aim 3). Collectively, these aims address the urgent need in research for successful community-academic partnerships to address concerns regarding air quality. In addition, the RISE Communities program will promote the use of sensor technology to encourage data-driven action to improve public health.