Tracking diesel truck pollution and asthma in immigrant communities
Driving Environmental Justice: Community Monitoring of Diesel Truck Emissions and Impacts onAsthma Morbidity in Immigrant Communities
This project uses community air monitors and GPS‑enabled inhaler caps to see how diesel truck pollution affects asthma symptoms and rescue inhaler use in Latino/x/e children and families.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11162283 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You and your family would be invited to join if you live in North Richmond, South Fresno, or Southwest Stockton and have a child aged 6–17 with asthma. Researchers will place local air monitors to measure black carbon from diesel trucks and ask children to use GPS‑enabled caps on their rescue inhalers to record when and where medicines are used. Daily symptom and inhaler-use data will be compared to pollution spikes while collecting information on acculturative stress, discrimination, and household protective factors. Community organizations will co-lead the work and help design practical actions at the individual, household, and neighborhood level to reduce exposures.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Latine households in North Richmond, South Fresno, or Southwest Stockton with at least one child aged 6–17 who has asthma and uses a rescue inhaler are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without asthma, those younger than the enrolled age range, or residents outside the target communities are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could pinpoint when and where diesel pollution worsens asthma and help communities target actions to reduce exposures and symptoms.
How similar studies have performed: Traffic-related air pollution is already linked to worse asthma, but this project combines community monitors and GPS‑enabled inhaler data in immigrant communities, which is a newer, more detailed approach.
Where this research is happening
San Francisco, United States
- University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Thakur, Neeta — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Thakur, Neeta
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.