Alerting Elders to Air Quality Health Risks

Three3, Inc. is advancing indoor environmental justice (EJ) outcomes for elders living in historically under-resourced communities of color. This pilot improves resilience of elders to indoor and outdoor risks through the development of the Elders Alerts System about Imminent Environmental Risks (EASIER).

Background

As humans age, we become more susceptible to negative health outcomes from poor air quality. Both indoor and outdoor air quality can present health challenges for the elderly and impact their day-to-day activities. This pilot project is creating a new alerting system for historically underresourced communities of color in the Knoxville area, gaining valuable insights into the benefits of alerting elders to negative air quality concerns along the way. The pilot project is also installing smart thermostats with alerts that enable elderly residents to know if and when their power has been interrupted.

EASIER Alert System Preliminary Rendering

Overview

The pilot project improves resilience of elders to indoor and outdoor air quality risks through the development of the Elders Alerts System about Imminent Environmental Risks (the EASIER alert system). To start, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) monitoring sensors are installed in homes to measure temperature, humidity, particulate matter and other indoor conditions. Air quality monitors are placed outside in participating neighborhoods. These data are combined with weather conditions and weather forecast data to trigger alerts to elders and designated members of their networks in the case of extreme events. This communication protocol is important as it alerts family and friends of participating elders to potential dangers.

The EASIER alert system communicates with elders through a well-designed user interface on a tablet that is provided as part of the pilot project. The interface is designed so that elders feel confident and comfortable understanding both the displays and the alerts. By understanding alerts, elder community members can make important decisions about activities in order to stay healthy. The core technologies of the EASIER alert system and lessons learned from this project are directly usable by other communities to help other elderly community members live more independently across the Tennessee Valley.

Objectives

The goal of this pilot project is to enroll 50 households across the Knoxville area in locations that are deemed to be environmental justice locations per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental justice tool. Additional metrics include:

1. Number of qualifying homes enrolled with the EASIER alert system
2. Number of appropriate alerts that the EASIER alert system provides to users and networks
3. Number of individuals and organizations connected to the EASIER alert system and their direct users

Key Levers for Success

With such an expansive pilot project, partnerships with different community partners are important for project success. The various community organizations and individuals involved in this pilot project bring together a wide range of knowledge and expertise to design each component of this new technology offering for elders living in Knoxville. Additionally, community input is also important for the development of the EASIER alert system. By gathering feedback from the community and understanding its unique needs, the technology has a better chance of long-term success as it has been tailored to fit what the community needs, not by the needs of others.

The Team

This project will be co-led by Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED), a 501(c) (3) organization located in the heart of East Knoxville, and Three3, Inc., a Knoxville-based 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization. The other members of the team are the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK); Slipstream, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin; healthcare consulting expert, Nexus Insight Advisors; and the local power company, Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB).

Social Equal Energy Efficiency Development (SEEED)

• Stan Johnson, executive director, is a co-principal investigator for this project.

Three3, Inc.

• Dr. Bruce Tonn, president, is a co-principal investigator for this project.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Researchers from five UTK colleges will participate in this project:

• Prof. Xaiopeng Zhao, College of Engineering, leads the effort to develop the software to aggregate sensor data, process data to identify alert conditions, and program the user interface.
• Prof. Suzie Allard, College of Communication & Information, will lead the effort to assess the EASIER alert system user interface.
• Prof. Suzie Allard, College of Communication & Information, leads the effort to assess the EASIER alert system user interface.
• Prof. Kristina Kintziger, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, contributes to developing the EASIER alert system and evaluating the system and its health impacts.
• Prof. Kelly Ellis, College of Arts & Sciences, contributes to enriching the EASIER alert system by helping to input the most relevant weather data into the system and transforming these data into understandable inputs for the alerts system and users.
• Prof. Jennifer First, College of Social Work, contributes to developing the EASIER alert system, assessment of project activities using an energy and environmental justice framework and community outreach.

Slipstream, Inc.

• Scott Pigg leads this effort for Slipstream.

Nexus Insight Advisors

• David Cox leads the effort to communicate the benefits of this project to the healthcare community.

Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB)

Photo Gallery

The User Experience Lab (UXL) team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville hosted Three3 and SEEED (Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development) on November 10th as an opportunity for the pilot project team to get to know one another better. UXL offers a range of user experience research services and will provide the expertise and tools to examine how people interact with technology and guidance on what can be done to improve those interactions for this pilot project.