Advancing Community-Engaged Research to Address the Impacts of Regional Health Stressors

ACE-PATH Objectives 

1. Identify, develop, and test effective community-engaged strategies to improve the adoption and use of specific treatments or tools to respond to community health challenges.
2. Support community-engaged research to enhance the adoption, integration, and sustainment of interventions addressing the impacts of local health stressors.
3. Build trust and strong partnerships with all interested parties to exchange knowledge and encourage implementation of promising practices to strengthen and improve community health.
4. Inform strategies to reduce the effects of prioritized local health stressors in U.S. communities. 

ACE-PATH Mission

ACE-PATH is a community-engaged alliance that promotes community-driven, sustainable strategies to address the impact of local health stressors across the United States. ACE-PATH supports community knowledge of the health impacts of regional challenges and builds partnerships with multiple collaborators to encourage and build resiliency.

ACE-PATH Awardees 

University of Alaska Fairbanks 

AK ACE Phase II: Protecting Health in the American Arctic: Implementing Localized Solutions to Promote Health and Prevent Chronic Disease in Rural Alaska 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Stacy Rasmus, Ph.D., M.A.; Karsten Hueffer, Ph.D., D.V.M., M.A.; Evon Taa’ąįį Peter, M.A. 

The AK ACE research team aims to promote the health of rural Alaska Native communities. The team will test localized strategies to address the effects of key regional health stressors identified by the impacted communities, prioritizing food security, water quality, and young people’s health and well-being. The team will conduct an intervention and assess its impacts on health at both the individual and community levels, focusing on improving young people’s physical and mental health and preventing chronic disease across the lifespan. 

AK ACE FOCUS: Mental health, Chronic disease 

Public Health Institute 

Community Health and Resilience Mobilization (CHARM) Lake County 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Michelle Wong, M.P.H.; Susan Paulukonis, M.P.H., M.A.; Sarah Ryan 

In rural Lake County, California, residents are at higher risk of heat-related illness. Wildfires and harmful algal blooms that affect water sources pose a threat to local health and well-being. The CHARM Lake County research team has worked with the community to identify key needs and gaps in local capacity to respond to extreme heat events. The team will now work with local partners to implement and test an intervention that lessens the immediate risks of heat exposure while promoting preventive behaviors to strengthen personal and community resilience. 

CHARM LAKE COUNTY FOCUS: Extreme heat, Harmful algal blooms, Wildfires 

University of Colorado Denver 

Mountain West Hub: Air Quality Action to Build Healthier and Stronger Rural and Urban Communities 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Carol Brown, Ph.D.; Katherine Dickinson, Ph.D., M.S.; Katherine James, Ph.D., M.S., M.S.P.H.; Emily Brown, M.P.H., CPH; Jaime Aguilar

Events such as wildfires and dust storms contribute to poor air quality — both outside and indoors — including greater levels of particulate matter (PM) in the air. Breathing in elevated PM can lead to poor health outcomes, including heart disease and lung conditions. The Mountain West Hub research team is studying ways to mitigate the health effects of poor indoor air quality in the homes of two Colorado communities. The project will study the effects of providing do-it-yourself air filters (DIYafs) to homes in rural and urban areas. The team will test how their intervention affects residents’ overall use of DIYafs, how the filters influence residents’ exposure to indoor PM, and how the intervention ultimately impacts physical and mental health throughout the communities. 

MW HUB FOCUS: Air quality, Elevated particulate matter, Dust storms, Wildfires

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