New research from the 91探花 shows that the program can improve fruit and vegetable intake and food security among low-income populations by providing financial support for buying healthy food.

The Fresh Bucks program works with local partners to help Seattle residents access healthy food. The program accepts applications from Seattle households with income less than 80% of the area median 鈥� $110,950 for a family of four in 2024. Recipients can use the $40 per month benefit to purchase fruits and vegetables at more than 40 retail locations throughout Seattle, including farmers markets, Safeway stores and independently owned grocery stores.

The study, , shows that Fresh Bucks households experience a 31% higher rate of food security and consume at least three daily servings of fruits and vegetables 37% more often than those assigned to a program waitlist.

鈥淚 would classify both of those numbers as pretty large,鈥� said , co-author, 91探花affiliate professor of health systems and population health and of epidemiology and University of California, Irvine professor of health, society and behavior. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 routinely see interventions that work that well. It鈥檚 a pretty big impact on diet in terms of what we can do from a policy perspective and expect to make a difference in food insecurity.鈥�

Food insecurity, or the lack of access to nutritionally adequate foods, is linked to lower-income households and is often associated with poor nutrient intake, diabetes and hypertension. Diet quality, including fruit and vegetable intake, impacts the risk for premature disability and death from cardiometabolic disease, cancer and other causes. But fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be less available in lower-income neighborhoods and more expensive than processed foods.

鈥淭he UW鈥檚 study helps us understand how the City of Seattle鈥檚 Fresh Bucks program shows up in the day-to-day decisions of our enrolled households,鈥� said Robyn Kumar, Fresh Bucks program manager at the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability. 鈥淔indings show that the healthy food access program makes a tangible difference for customers, significantly increasing food security and fruit and vegetable intake. We know these lifestyle changes have long-lasting benefits, and Fresh Bucks is helping to ensure that our most overburdened community members have equitable access to healthy foods and increased quality of life.鈥�

In October 2021, 6,900 new applicants and existing beneficiaries applied to receive benefits in 2022. The total number of applicants exceeded program funding, so 4,200 households were randomly chosen to receive benefits. The remaining applicants were placed on a waitlist. The City of Seattle then mailed a follow-up survey to all 6,900 applicants in July 2022. The sample for this study consists of the 1,973 households who completed and returned the survey.

Researchers compared new applicants who received the benefit and new applicants assigned to the waitlist. They also considered the impact of losing Fresh Bucks by comparing returning applicants who were placed on the waitlist with those who continued receiving benefits. Losing the benefit reduced food security by 29% and resulted in households being 26% less likely to eat fruits and vegetables at least three times a day.

鈥淭he results were quite symmetric,鈥� said , lead author and 91探花teaching professor of economics. 鈥淭he people who gained the program saw nearly the same benefit as what was lost by the people who lost the program. So, it seems like there are two things going on: One is that the program is helping people, and the other is these effects don鈥檛 magically sustain themselves without funding.鈥�

Because of the health risks associated with poor diet, insurers have recently shown increased interest and investment in 鈥渇ood is medicine,鈥� or FIM, programs, which include produce prescriptions and programs that provide free, healthy food for patients. Before FIM programs, federal grants funded 鈥渘utrition incentive programs鈥� to increase healthy food access and food security.

But Fresh Bucks differs from other healthy food benefit programs in several ways, including focused enrollment within households disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease, divesting enrollment from SNAP participation, enabling participants to redeem benefits at a large chain food retailer and smaller local stores and no required match spending 鈥� where participants receive additional benefits based on how much of their own money they spend.

鈥淲e clearly see that once this program goes away, people can no longer afford to eat these foods, as evidenced by the increase in fruits and vegetables when people are receiving the benefit, but the near symmetric decrease when benefits are lost,鈥� Jones-Smith said. 鈥淚 think that really drives home the fact that money or material resources are necessary for enacting this kind of dietary change.鈥�

Other co-authors from the 91探花include , recently graduated doctoral student of health systems and population health; , associate professor of health systems and population health; and , community research coordinator. The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

For more information, contact Knox at knoxm@uw.edu.

From its base at the southwest corner of the Seattle campus, the provides expertise, tools and resources on 鈥渁ll things climate鈥� to partners and communities across the state.

was announced in the spring as the . Mauger is a research scientist with the 91探花Climate Impacts Group, which now houses the state climatologist鈥檚 office. Mauger鈥檚 research focuses mainly on water and floods in the context of climate change.

, a 91探花research scientist and the deputy state climatologist, studies such things as nighttime heat in Seattle and new ways to display weather data, as well as other trends involving heat and drought.

Together, they provide data and share news on whatever鈥檚 in the skies. From heat domes to hailstorms, from snowpack to summer drought, they provide perspective on the short-term and long-term weather woes and questions facing Washingtonians.

鈥淥ur goal is to help people understand the climate and how it affects their daily lives,鈥� Mauger said.

Right now, many people in the region are curious about the upcoming winter season.

鈥淭his year we鈥檙e expecting to see a weak La Ni帽a develop in the tropical Pacific Ocean,鈥� Bumbaco said. For Washington that means 鈥渙n average, we tend to have cooler-than-normal temperatures, a little bit more precipitation, and more snowpack by the end of our winter season during La Ni帽a winters.鈥�

Mauger and Bumbaco also conduct research on changes in rainfall patterns and flood risks, and on temperatures and wildfire risks for the coming season and over the longer term. Visit the Office of the Washington State Climatologist鈥檚 website to check out the seasonal , a list of or to subscribe to a on the current state of Washington鈥檚 climate.

For more information, contact Mauger at mauger@uw.edu or Bumbaco at kbumbaco@uw.edu.

America鈥檚 homeless services system relies on a massive amount of data, and at first glance, that data is exacting. Federal reports describe the country鈥檚 unhoused population in granular detail, listing precisely how many people are experiencing homelessness in each city along with detailed demographic data. Want to know how many people ages 55-64 slept outside in Spokane last year? A spreadsheet confidently provides the answer: 听

That data influences decisions at every level of government, from how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) distributes $3 billion in funding to how local service providers target their outreach efforts. It鈥檚 also . As a result, communities across the country 鈥� including King County 鈥� don’t really know exactly how many of their residents are unhoused and have a limited window into people鈥檚 circumstances and needs. 听

So, a team of 91探花 researchers designed a better way to count. Led by , a 91探花associate professor of sociology, and , professor emeritus of health systems and population health, researchers developed a method that taps into people鈥檚 social networks to generate a more representative sample, which they use to estimate the total unhoused population. Along the way, agency staff and volunteers gather information on people鈥檚 demographics, resources and needs. 听

The researchers launched this method in partnership with King County in 2022 and repeated the process in 2024, publishing their findings . 91探花News sat down with Almquist and Hagopian to discuss their new approach and how it could help close the gaps in our understanding of homelessness in America.听

Statistics on homelessness and the demographics of unhoused populations are often quite specific. The federal government reported that on a single night in January 2023, for example. How do we get these statistics, and how reliable are they?听听

Amy Hagopian: I鈥檓 always a little amused at numbers that create a false specificity; for example, an airline says my flight will arrive in Chicago at 11:33 a.m. Everyone knows that number isn鈥檛 true, except sometimes by accident, and yet we entertain the airline by pretending to believe the number. After all, there are no consequences for being wrong!听

The national count is an amalgamation of counts reported by each community鈥檚 jurisdiction, designed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most jurisdictions are still attempting a single-night head count of people found by volunteers who move about in the dark with flashlights and clipboards 鈥� a highly problematic approach King County has abandoned in favor of our sampling method. When these numbers come in, HUD just adds them up, and of course the number won鈥檛 be round. We all know it鈥檚 way below the actual number, because a middle-of-the-night census isn鈥檛 going to find everyone.听

Zack Almquist: There is a common fiction that when we do a census it is exact, because government reports often do not provide a margin of error. I think if you asked many experts, they would say they know the reality is a range, not a single number. In fact, not providing a range provides a level of confidence that we really don鈥檛 have, regardless of how we get there.

One nice thing about using a statistical estimate is that people are trained to expect a margin of error or confidence interval. We can say, plus or minus 5%, or 100-200 people. In other words, by moving into a space where we expect to see a range, we can be more honest, and ideally be more prepared to handle the real situation.听

Why does it matter how accurate this data is?听

AH: America has the worst homelessness problem in the world created by an economic system 鈥� as opposed to war and other disasters 鈥� largely because we make no attempt to recognize the human right to housing as established by the United Nations. One reason to count by jurisdiction is to learn where the hot spots are, and which areas have managed to lower their counts, and why. 听

ZA: This is also an equity and respect issue for the people who are experiencing homelessness. We owe it to our community members to do our best to capture the real state of the problem in our area and to best represent their race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, and causal or associated factors like eviction. We cannot hope to adequately engage a problem if we can鈥檛 accurately quantify it.

Your team developed a new method to estimate the unhoused population. How does your method work, and how does it differ from the traditional PIT count?听听

ZA: Our method takes the approach that there is no reliable way for us to obtain a census of people living unsheltered in our community, and that we need to move from a biased counting exercise to an approach that leverages modern statistical methods to obtain a best estimate of the population given our current resources. Modern sampling methods can improve how we count people. Sampling is the process of selecting a small group from a larger population to study and make conclusions about the entire population.听

We leveraged a sampling strategy that comes out of public health literature and is endorsed by the National Institutes of Health and World Health Organization. First, we collect a roster and bed count from shelters. The HUD-mandated Point-in-Time count was always split between the roster or bed count and an unsheltered count; the latter was historically counted in King County by a visual census. So, the total number of people experiencing homelessness is the number of people in emergency shelters on a given night plus the number of people living outside on a given night. Through some ratios and algebra, we can estimate the total number of people if we know who slept in an emergency shelter and know from historical measures the relative proportion of people who slept outside. 听

Our sampling strategy of leveraging people鈥檚 social networks and peer referral allows us to estimate the proportion of people who slept outside to those who slept in an emergency shelter on a given night. Further, this allows us to better find and count people who would be hard to find in the traditional visual census 鈥� people living in the woods or hiding 鈥� and also provides a clear method for the margin of error of our estimate of the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.听

Your count creates a more reliable estimate of the unhoused population, but that鈥檚 not all. What other information can you collect with this method, and how might it be useful?听听

AH: When other jurisdictions do their midnight census counts, they are just counting bodies seen. There is no opportunity to collect demographic or life history or health status data unless they shake people awake and interview them in the moment, which few people do. Instead, they conduct a post-count interview process in places like food banks. Our approach provides the opportunity to count people during daylight hours while also learning something about their life course and circumstances. This provides King County with some valuable information about the causes of homelessness. Once we move towards a quarterly count, we can also learn about the 鈥渃hurn鈥� —听the number of people moving into and out of homelessness and what the drivers are for those changes in circumstance.听

ZA: I think this point can鈥檛 be emphasized enough, as running a post-count survey is almost always conducted as a spatial convenience sample that surveys both those using emergency shelters and those who slept outside. It鈥檚 unlikely to include the same people who were in the one-night body count. 听

What have you heard from people who鈥檝e participated in your method? How do participants鈥� experiences differ from the old Point-In-Time count?听

AH: We conducted a couple of focus groups recently with people experiencing homelessness in Seattle. We asked them about their impressions of the recent methods change in how we count. We found people appreciated the motivations behind the change, and the more respectful approach we are now using.听听

ZA: I just want to second what Amy said, and to point out that people really appreciate being directly engaged with and having a chance to be paid for their time and effort.听

How else could this method be used? Are there potential applications outside of homelessness and housing services?听听

AH: I have helped conduct mortality counts in war zones, and some of the lessons learned from those experiences were helpful here. For example, in Iraq conducted a door-to-door survey to ask adult household members to tell us about the alive or dead status of their siblings. This allowed us to calculate a total war-related mortality rate for the country, as our sample was selected proportionate to size of the governorate sampled. 听

ZA: I think the basic ideas used here could end up influencing health and demography measurement efforts for several hard-to-estimate populations. For example, international migration can often be split between those we can count with high fidelity, like registered immigrants, and unregistered immigrants. Combining new sampling methods with administrative data to count hard-to-reach populations could be employed for a number of problems in industry, health and public policy. I hope to see these ideas picked up broadly.听

AH: We are grateful to the UW鈥檚 Population Health Initiative for the opportunity to develop these methods, and to our partners at King County Regional Homelessness Authority for being willing to try something new with us.听

For more information or to contact Hagopian and/or Almquist, contact Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu.听听

When 91探花 President Ana Mari Cauce launched the Population Health Initiative in 2016, she spoke in soaring, ambitious terms. 鈥淲e have an unprecedented opportunity to help people live longer, healthier, more productive lives 鈥� here and around the world,鈥� she said. 91探花researchers have leapt at that opportunity, forging connections across the university, working side by side with community partners and breaking down traditional barriers to improving public health. 听

In just eight years, the Initiative has funded 227 innovative, interdisciplinary projects. Many are focused right here in Western Washington, where projects have helped in South Seattle, identified soil contaminants in community gardens in the Duwamish Valley, and improved how community leaders along the Okanogan River . Other projects have reached across the globe, targeting health disparities in Somalia, Peru, Brazil and more.听听

鈥淚n this relatively short period of time, we鈥檝e demonstrated the power that accrues when faculty and staff across the various areas of our campuses are working together and also exposing students to the cutting-edge work of tackling grand challenges,鈥� Cauce said in her most recent .听

And they’re just getting started. Many PHI-funded projects are still in their earliest stages, leveraging initial funding to show proof-of-concept for their ideas and setting the stage for future work. Fourteen projects so far have received much larger grants to empower researchers and community partners to expand successful projects and scale up for greater impact.听

With the Initiative now a third of the way into its 25-year vision, 91探花News checked in with three projects that recently received funding to scale their efforts.听

Spotting potential memory health issues in rural Washington

Diagnosing memory health issues in the best of circumstances is extraordinarily difficult. Patients typically make multiple visits to their doctor and take a many of which can produce flawed results 鈥� people who take the same test more than once, for example, will often score higher, potentially masking memory loss. 听

It鈥檚 even harder in rural America, which has a Patients seeking memory care might have to make a long, expensive trip to a major city, which leads many people to wait until a problem becomes apparent. By then, it鈥檚 often too late 鈥� modern treatments can slow the progress of memory loss, but there鈥檚 no way to regain what鈥檚 been lost.听

鈥淪o, how do you catch it early?鈥� said , a 91探花associate professor of psychology. 鈥淲e give people an app to have them check for themselves.鈥澨�听

Stocco and , director of the 91探花Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease Research Center, together with Hedderik van Rijn of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, led the development of an online program that can measure a person鈥檚 memory and predict their risk of memory disorders. Like a flash-card app that helps students cram for a test, the program shows pictures and asks the user to recall what they saw a few minutes earlier. The app records how quickly and accurately the user responds to each question and makes the next one a little easier or more difficult.听听

Researchers have long understood that a person鈥檚 ability to recall a specific memory tends to fade over time. This is called the 鈥�.鈥� In听 Stocco and van Rijn found that they could measure individual differences in the slopes of such curves.听 The app works by comparing a person鈥檚 responses to an internal model of forgetting and adjusting the slope of the model until it matches the responses. The resulting slope can be used to estimate the likelihood that their memory is fading faster than normal.听听

By taking the test regularly, a person can track their memory鈥檚 decline over time. But preliminary tests, Stocco said, have shown that even a single use can spot a potential problem.听

鈥淛ust by looking at a single lesson, based on the result, there鈥檚 almost a perfect correspondence between the speed of forgetting and your probability of being diagnosed by a doctor,鈥� Stocco said. 鈥淚t can be as accurate as the best clinical tests but, instead of taking two or three hours, this can be done in eight minutes, and you don鈥檛 need a doctor.鈥�听

A Tier 3 grant from the Population Health Initiative and a collaboration with the will allow the researchers to share the app with up to 500 people in rural and counties. Participants can take the test on their own time, and the results will be shared with researchers. If a potential problem emerges, the researchers plan to invite participants to Seattle for an in-person evaluation.听听

鈥淚t鈥檚 a solution that seems to solve these problems of early access and diagnostic bottlenecks,鈥� Stocco said. 鈥淚f this works, there鈥檚 no problem giving it to everybody in the state. We鈥檙e really interested in expanding and adding people from underrepresented populations and underrepresented areas, and the grant will allow us to do that.鈥�听

Nancy Spurgeon of the Central Washington Area Health Education Center is also a collaborator on the project to test the prototype app, which is not yet available to the public.听

Revamping the Point-In-Time Count to better understand King County鈥檚 unhoused population听

For years, volunteers fanned across King County on a cold night each January, flashlights and clipboards in hand, searching for people sleeping outside. They鈥檇 also gather the shelter head counts for that night. Officially called the , this effort attempted to tally the number of people who lacked stable housing. This endeavor was replicated in cities across the country, and the results were combined to create a national count that influences how the federal government allocates funding.听

There鈥檚 just one problem 鈥� the count is Volunteers can鈥檛 possibly find everybody. It captures only a single moment in time, and collects only limited data on people鈥檚 circumstances or personal needs. A person sleeping in their car might need different services than a person who sleeps in a tent, and the count didn鈥檛 fully capture that distinction.听

So, a team of 91探花researchers designed a better way to count. Their method, detailed in a published Sept. 4 in in the American Journal of Epidemiology, taps into people鈥檚 social networks to generate a more representative sample, which the researchers then ran through a series of calculations to estimate the total unhoused population.听听听

Called 鈥渞espondent-driven sampling,鈥� the method stations volunteers in common 鈥渉ubs,鈥� like libraries or community centers, and offers cash gift cards for in-person interviews and peer referrals. Volunteers collect detailed information on people鈥檚 circumstances and needs, giving each person three tickets to share with their unhoused peers. When those peers come in for an interview and show the ticket, the person who referred them receives another small reward. The new person gets a gift card and another three tickets.听

鈥淭his method gives people a more active voice in being counted. It鈥檚 a more humane way to count people, and it鈥檚 also voluntary,鈥� said , a 91探花associate professor of sociology and co-lead on the project. 鈥淭he regular PIT (Point-In-Time) count just counted people. Now we can collect all sorts of information from people on their circumstances and their needs. Should policymakers want to, they could leverage that data to change service offerings.鈥�听

The researchers received a Tier 2 grant to develop the system. They launched it in partnership with King County in 2022 and 2024, and were recently awarded a Tier 3 grant to test out the feasibility of running it quarterly.听听

鈥淩unning the count quarterly allows us to estimate how many people move in and out of homelessness and whether there are seasonal changes, which are rarely measured,鈥� Almquist said. 鈥淎lso, people鈥檚 needs change depending on the time of year, and this method will help us better understand those rhythms.鈥澨�听

Other cities and counties have expressed interest, the researchers said. The team has also begun to expand the effort, aiming to improve data across the broad spectrum of housing and homelessness services.听听

鈥淎 very important byproduct of this work across schools and departments at 91探花is that we can create an ecosystem of people and projects,鈥� said , a 91探花professor emeritus of health systems and population health and co-lead on the project. 鈥淲e鈥檝e spun off projects on sleep assessments, relationships with organizations that collect data on homelessness, and we鈥檙e mapping the sweeps of encampments in relationship to where people choose to be located. We have a whole network of homelessness-related research now.听

鈥淭hese PHI grants gave us the fuel to ignite these projects.鈥�听

Other collaborators are of the 91探花Department of Health Systems and Population Health and of the VA Health Services Research and Development; of the 91探花Departments of Sociology and Statistics; of the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology and the eScience Institute; and Owen Kajfasz, Janelle Rothfolk and Cathea Carey of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.听

Engaging community to mitigate flood risk in the Duwamish Valley听

More than a century ago, Seattle leaders set out to control and redirect the Duwamish River. They dredged the riverbed and dug out its twists and turns. Wetlands were filled in, the valley was paved over and a system of hydrology was severed. What had been a wild, winding river valley with regular flooding became an angular straightaway built for industry. But when 91探花postdoctoral scholar looks out at the Duwamish, she sees the river fighting back.听听

鈥淭he water was always there,鈥� Jeranko said, 鈥渁nd now it鈥檚 fighting to come back up.鈥澨�听

The river returned with devastating effect in December 2022, when a king tide and heavy rainfall , submerging homes and shuttering local businesses. The underserved neighborhood faces a significant risk of future floods.听

To mitigate that risk, the City of Seattle has updated the neighborhood鈥檚 stormwater drainage system and launched a new flood-warning system. But the , a nonprofit focused on river pollution and environmental health, saw an opportunity for something greater. The DRCC asked a team of 91探花researchers to help develop flood adaptation plans that are community-based, culturally responsive and that enrich the local environment.听听

鈥淚n the community, people don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 been enough engagement. There鈥檚 all this talk about flood mitigation, but all they see are sandbags,鈥� Jeranko said. 鈥淪o DRCC was like, 鈥楲ook, we really need the people who live in the flood zone to understand the solutions.鈥� Because we have this long-lasting relationship with them, they see us as someone who鈥檚 able to provide a list of solutions, not favor one over the others, and do it in an informative way.鈥�听

Boosted by a Tier 3 grant from the PHI, Jeranko and a team representing five 91探花departments, the Burke Museum and the DRCC are engaging with the community. This fall, the team will present the neighborhood with an expansive list of flood mitigation options and encourage city leaders to consider people鈥檚 preferences. Early work shows the community would favor nature-based solutions, Jeranko said. Floodable parks, for example, would provide ecological, recreational and public health benefits to the entire community, while storing flood water during storms.听听

鈥淚t has been wonderful to collaborate with the 91探花team on this to make sure we are centering community voices in every single step of the planning for climate resilience,鈥� said Paulina L贸pez, executive director of the DRCC. 鈥淐ommunity leadership and representation is indispensable to bring climate justice to the Duwamish Valley.鈥�听

Jeranko hopes their community-based model will be replicated by communities across the country facing similar risks from climate change and sea level rise.听

鈥淓ven though 91探花and a lot of other universities really support and invest in community-engaged work, a lot of times it鈥檚 fundamentally hard to make that research happen,鈥� Jeranko said. 鈥淏ut the Population Health Initiative grant was about supporting all those things.鈥�听

Other collaborators on the project are , and of the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; of the Department of Landscape Architecture; of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, of the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences; of the Quaternary Research Center and the Burke Museum; and L贸pez and Robin Schwartz of the DRCC.听

For more information on any of the projects mentioned, or to learn more about the 91探花Population Health Initiative, visit the Initiative’s website or contact Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu.听听

Many Tribes in Washington and Oregon call coastal areas home, meaning they are especially affected by climate change. They also face changes in wildfire risk and in changes to fisheries that are economically and culturally important.

A led by the 91探花鈥檚 Climate Impacts Group, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and Washington Sea Grant compiles the experiences of Washington and Oregon coastal Tribes as they prepare for climate change. The report aims to build on successes and identify common barriers to progress.

鈥淓very year the climate crisis continues to elevate and accelerate. The lack of a coordinated federal response is what causes Northwest coastal Tribes 鈥� and other coastal communities 鈥� to suffer from hazards which are imminently impacting life, property, Tribal rights and resources,鈥� said project co-lead of the . 鈥淲ith direct quotes from Tribal citizens and staff with lived personal and professional experiences, [this report] describes the immediate urgency of the federal government to take coordinated climate action.鈥�

Results will be shared with Northwest coastal Tribes and other governmental and nongovernmental entities.

鈥淭he report is based on listening sessions with Northwest coastal Tribes, and summarizes the barriers and unmet needs they face in their efforts to prepare for climate change,鈥� said project co-lead Meade Krosby, who is director of the UW-based and senior scientist at the 91探花. This report was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the .

The project team held six Tribal listening sessions, each 2.5 hours long, in varying formats. Three listening sessions took place during Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians conferences already attended by many Northwest coastal Tribal members.听Two sessions were held virtually, and one was hosted by an individual Tribal Nation. Participants in each session met in small groups and shared information with each other and with a moderator.

All participants had the choice of making their comments public or not, and of contributing anonymously or under their name. Researchers later coded all the contributions and summarized the overall findings. Contributions represented 13 Tribal nations, roughly half of the federally recognized Tribes within the study鈥檚 coastal regions. The overall findings include:

• Despite being national leaders in climate adaptation, Northwest coastal Tribes face significant needs in realizing their adaptation goals
• Key barriers and unmet needs centered in five areas: funding, staffing, technical expertise, partnerships and communications
• Successful efforts noted strengths in many of these same areas, such as securing external funding, the dedication of Tribal staff, and building robust partnerships

Participants described specific situations and frustrations, including the piecemeal nature of federal funding; challenges recruiting and retaining key staff; potential partners鈥� lack of familiarity with Tribal processes and priorities; and establishing stable support for long-term initiatives.

Participants鈥� quotes included:

鈥淚f you just looked at the total amount of Tribal land, you鈥檇 say: 鈥榃ell, there鈥檚 lots of places that the Tribe can move,鈥� but if you take away all the places that are sacred or culturally significant, or habitat for important species, or landslide hazard, or some other hazard, the options are diminished. We must also be careful not to move away from one hazard into another. How bad would it be if we move away from the shoreline, and we put ourselves in harm鈥檚 way for fire?鈥�

鈥� Robert Knapp, environmental planning manager and climate resilience lead, Jamestown S鈥橩lallam Tribe

鈥淪ome of the challenges that we face on the coast are due to the magnitude of some of the projects that we need to undertake. For example, we are in the midst of relocating our two main Quinault villages on the Washington coast. That鈥檚 a multimillion-dollar, multi-agency effort 鈥� It鈥檚 very difficult to integrate our plans and priorities for village relocation with those of the agencies and constrains on available funding.鈥�

鈥� Gary Morishima, natural resources technical advisor, Quinault Indian Nation

鈥淭o build capacity we need funding sources that are long-term, that we can say to Tribal leadership: 鈥榃e know we鈥檙e going to have funding for five or six years, so we want to hire this person who鈥檚 an engineer, who鈥檚 a project manager, who can take on these projects, talk to other [external] engineers, and who can make these projects happen.鈥欌��

鈥� Rochelle Blankenship, Tribal council member and executive director, Jamestown S鈥橩lallam Tribe

The report concludes: 鈥淲hile these findings do not fully represent the depth and breadth of [the challenges faced by Northwest coastal Tribes] and what is required to address them, we hope they will help build awareness among funders, policymakers, climate service providers and others to mobilize necessary action in support of the climate adaptation efforts of Northwest coastal Tribes.鈥�

In related upcoming work, the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative鈥檚 Tribal Coastal Resilience effort at the 91探花was as part of a to support coastal readiness in Washington state.

The grant will support hiring a full-time climate adaptation specialist to provide technical assistance to Northwest coastal Tribes, Krosby said. That person will also coordinate a small grants program that will distribute most of the funds to Tribes to support their adaptation efforts. The grants program was designed to respond to Tribal priorities without imposing barriers that often make funds difficult to apply for and administer. Awards will be made starting in 2025.

鈥淲e’re really excited that this is happening at the same time our report is coming out,鈥� Krosby said. 鈥淪o it’s not just describing the problem. It’s also: Here, let鈥檚 bring some resources to bear based on what we learned.鈥�

Other co-authors on the report are Ryan Hasert at the 91探花Climate Impacts Group; Kylie Avery at the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians; and Chandler Countryman and Melissa Poe at UW’s Washington Sea Grant. The project鈥檚 Tribal advisory group and report reviewers include representatives from the Makah, Tulalip, Coquille, Squaxin Island, Swinomish and Quinault Tribes and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

For more information, contact Marchand at amarchand@atnitribes.org, and Krosby at mkrosby@uw.edu or 206-579-8023.听

Bob Wilbur thought he鈥檇 found a retirement home that would be a place of peace. Nestled against Admiralty Bay on the western edge of Whidbey Island, the three-story house is surrounded by trees and shoreline. It offers the kind of quiet that only an island can provide. Except when the Growlers fly.听

As often as four days a week, Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft based at the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island fly loops overhead as pilots practice touch-and-go landings. The noise is immense, around the level of a loud rock concert. 鈥淚t interrupts your day,鈥� Wilbur said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e unable to have a pleasant evening at home. You can鈥檛 communicate. You constantly try to organize your day around being gone when the jets are flying.鈥�听

New research from the 91探花 shows that the noise isn鈥檛 just disruptive 鈥� it presents a substantial risk to public health. in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, an analysis of the Navy鈥檚 own acoustic monitoring data found that more than 74,000 people are exposed to noise levels with adverse health effects.听听

“Military aircraft noise is substantially more intense and disturbing than commercial jet noise,鈥� said lead author , a graduate student in the 91探花College of the Environment. 鈥淣oise exposure has many downstream effects beyond just annoyance and stress 鈥� high levels of sleep disturbance, hearing impairment, increased risk of cardiovascular disease 鈥� these have real impacts on human health and quality of life. We also found that several schools in the area are exposed to levels that have been shown to put children at risk of delayed learning.鈥�

Guided by conversations with community members and local advocacy groups, researchers analyzed four weeks of acoustic and flight operations data , in addition to prior-year data collected by a private acoustics company and the National Park Service. Researchers then mapped noise exposure across the region to estimate how much noise specific communities were exposed to in an average year.听

Researchers estimated that two-thirds of Island County residents, including everyone in the cities of Oak Harbor and Coupeville, were exposed to potentially harmful levels of noise, as was 85% of the population of the Swinomish Indian Reservation. 听

In total, an estimated 74,316 people were exposed to average noise levels that posed a risk of annoyance, 41,089 of whom were exposed to nighttime noise levels associated with adverse effects on sleep. Another 8,059 people 鈥� most of whom lived within fairly close proximity to aircraft landing strips 鈥� were exposed to noise levels that can pose a risk of hearing impairment over time.听

鈥淥ur bodies produce a lot of stress hormone response to noise in general, it doesn鈥檛 matter what kind of noise it is. But particularly if it鈥檚 this repeated acute noise, you might expect that stress hormone response to be exacerbated,鈥� said co-author , a 91探花professor of environmental and occupational health sciences. 鈥淲hat was really interesting was that we鈥檙e reaching noise exposure levels that are actually harmful for hearing. Usually I only think of hearing in the context of working in factories or other really, really loud occupational settings. But here, we鈥檙e reaching those levels for the community.鈥�听听

Taken as a whole, the potential harms can be quite serious, Seto said. 鈥淚magine people trying to sleep, or children in school trying to understand their teachers and you鈥檝e got these jets flying.鈥�听

Every monitoring station on Whidbey Island measured noise events in excess of 100 decibels when jets were flying. In some instances, noise levels were 鈥渙ff the charts鈥� 鈥� exceeding the limits of models used to predict the health effects of noise exposure around the world. 听

鈥淲e found it striking that Growler noise exceeds the scientific community鈥檚 current understanding of the potential health outcomes,鈥� said co-author , a 91探花professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. 鈥淔or this reason, our estimates of health impacts are conservative.鈥�听

The noise has been the subject of community disputes and legal controversy since 2013, when the U.S. Navy moved more Growler jets onto Whidbey Island and increased the number of flights to more than 110,000 per year. Bob Wilbur is a member and the current chair of Citizens of Ebey鈥檚 Reserve, a community group that has sued the Navy over the jet noise and increased flight operations. The group also helped facilitate the 91探花study, and Wilbur is a co-author.听听

Like other military aircraft, the Growlers鈥� noise differs significantly from commercial jets 鈥� louder and deeper, the kind of sound that people feel before they hear.听听

“It鈥檚 the intensity, the intermittent nature of the noise, and the low-frequency energy specifically,鈥� Jacuzzi said. 鈥淭hose three things are very different than what you experience from normal commercial flights, which are predictable and high in altitude. When Growlers fly over a home, they emit a rumbling noise that penetrates windows and shakes walls.鈥澨�听

While commercial jet noise has been the subject of extensive study, research into military aircraft noise is relatively rare. Previous UW-led research found that military flights were the largest cause of noise pollution on the Olympic Peninsula. While discussing that study, Whidbey residents complained that the noise disturbed their sleep and interfered with students鈥� schoolwork, which prompted this new line of inquiry. While conducting this study, researchers worked closely with community members and advocacy groups and held multiple webinars to share results and shape future work.听听

鈥淥ur research was motivated by the growing chorus of complaints by Washingtonians across multiple counties,鈥� Olden said. 鈥淲e believe the science speaks for itself. It鈥檚 no longer a question of whether noise impacts people, but how, where and how much these effects are experienced.鈥�听

Other authors are Lauren Kuehne of Omfishient Consulting, and Anne Harvey and Christine Hurley of Sound Defense Alliance. This research was funded by the 91探花Population Health Initiative.

For more information, contact Jacuzzi at gioj@uw.edu.听

As unprecedented as the outbreak of COVID-19 felt, it was far from the first time a deadly disease has swept the globe. dating as far back as 430 B.C. Records tell us how these diseases spread and how many people died, but not people鈥檚 personal experiences of the crises.听听

COVID-19 presented a rare opportunity to document in real-time how people processed the tumult of a pandemic, and how necessary public health measures affected their lives. Starting in the earliest days of the 2020 outbreak, a team of researchers at the 91探花 conducted real-time surveys of King County residents, asking what measures people had taken to protect themselves, how their daily lives had been affected and what worried them most. 听

The results, , provide a glimpse into the subtle effects that public health measures like social distancing and stay-at-home orders had on the community.听听

91探花News spoke with , research scientist at the 91探花Collaborative on Extreme Event Resilience, and a 91探花assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and director of the new , to discuss the study, how people experienced those early months and what public health practitioners can learn for future pandemics.听听

It鈥檚 been four years since COVID-19 changed all our lives, and more than two years since we started to emerge into this new normal. Why is it important to share this research now, to understand people鈥檚 experiences of the pandemic and collective efforts to limit COVID鈥檚 spread?听听

Kathleen Moloney: Unfortunately, COVID-19 is unlikely to be the last pandemic we face. To fully understand this pandemic鈥檚 impacts and better prepare for the next, we need research studies like ours 鈥� where data was collected in real time, from March to May of 2020 鈥� that document the lived experiences of communities during the pandemic. For example, by documenting how people in King County experienced the social distancing measures in real-time, our study provides valuable insights into which negative impacts were most acute during the early stages of the pandemic. Our results, combined with evidence from other research studies, can provide direction for researchers and policymakers to explore effective interventions for future pandemics.听

Nicole Errett: It is really important to start collecting data in the immediate aftermath of a disaster to understand effects on health and well-being, but researchers face a variety of administrative, logistical and ethical challenges when designing rapid-response research studies. By sharing our approach in this paper, we can provide ideas and guidance for other investigators while designing studies for future disasters, whether those are caused by an infectious disease or natural hazard.听听

The COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented in a lot of ways, and was for most Americans the most significant disruption to our daily lives ever. How unusual are events like this in human history? What do we know about how past pandemics and epidemics have affected the people who lived through them?听听

KM: During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we often heard comparisons to the 1918 influenza pandemic, as closures of schools, businesses and other community gathering spaces were implemented in response to both. However, it isn鈥檛 really possible to compare the experiences of those who lived through COVID-19 with those who lived through the 1918 Flu and other pandemics throughout history, because there weren鈥檛 any research studies conducted at the time to document those experiences. That鈥檚 why rapid-response disaster research, like our study, is so important.听听

In the paper you evaluate the unintended impacts of efforts to slow the pandemic, like people losing their jobs and students falling behind in school. How do you think about that delicate balance between public health and individual well-being?听听

KM: I don鈥檛 think of protecting public health and individual well-being as opposing priorities that need to be balanced. Public health, as a field, is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and well-being of the individuals that make up communities. Disruptions to employment and schooling can negatively impact long-term health outcomes, and ideally, these potential consequences should be considered when thinking through the type and duration of social distancing measures. Unfortunately, all the empirical research needed to inform those decisions was limited prior to this pandemic.听听

You asked participants about steps they took to protect themselves at the height of the pandemic. Some steps had pretty low rates of participation 鈥� for example, only 63% of people said they stopped going to the gym, and 82% of people avoided large gatherings. What does that say about the effectiveness of our collective response to the pandemic?听听

KM: I want to give the caveat that our survey only captured participants鈥� self-reported behavior at a single point in time. For example, someone who responded to the survey on March 19th, 2020, that they had not stopped going to the gym might have stopped the next week, when the statewide Stay Home, Stay Safe order was issued. Our survey was also a convenience sample, and therefore shouldn鈥檛 be considered representative of the compliance of King County residents as a whole with various social distancing recommendations.听听

With that said, those numbers were still slightly surprising. The narrative we often hear of public acceptance of COVID-19 social distancing measures is that compliance was initially high, and then decreased over time due to factors such as message fatigue 鈥� there鈥檚 research documenting this phenomenon. We need additional research to confirm this, but our results might indicate that there was also an initial lag in compliance with the social distancing recommendations implemented in response to COVID-19.听听

Overall, these measures still appear to have been effective, despite imperfect or slightly delayed compliance among certain residents.听

NE: At the time of our survey, our understanding of disease transmission was still evolving. It鈥檚 possible that people took measures they thought were protective (like hand washing) while attending these gatherings, based on their understanding of transmission at the time. It would have been interesting to re-survey folks at various time points throughout the pandemic to see how their behavior evolved as the pandemic, and our understanding of the disease, progressed.听

You evaluated participants鈥� well-being as described in their written stories about their experience. What trends appeared there, and were they what you expected to find?听听

KM: Two findings surprised me in particular. First, less than half of our participants described impacts to their social life 鈥� I expected the percentage to be much higher. It would be interesting to know how that result might change if we surveyed the same participants at a later point in the pandemic, when social distancing measures had been in place for longer. I was also surprised to see the poorest average well-being reported by those over the age 65, and the highest average well-being reported by 18-to-34 year olds. This is in contrast to several other national-scale studies in the US and Europe, which found worse mental health impacts in young adults.听听

Given that older adults are more likely to reside alone in the U.S. than in most other countries and report high rates of social isolation and loneliness even during non-pandemic times, interventions to mitigate the mental health impacts of future pandemics on older adults probably deserve special attention.听听

In their written responses, participants most frequently described a negative financial or employment-related impact, even more than social impacts. How might that change how we prepare to help people through future crises?听听

KM: Knowing which negative impacts are most prevalent at various points in the pandemic, and how these impacts differ between groups, can help us develop more specific, more effective interventions to prevent these unintended consequences in the future. We saw that employment and financial impacts were the top concern for every age group except those 65 and older 鈥� this group expressed higher concern about physical health and social impacts. So while an early intervention to mitigate the financial impacts of a future crisis on younger adults could be effective, we would likely want to prioritize different resources for older adults.听听

What鈥檚 also interesting is that many of the concerns our participants reported, both in written narratives and the close-ended survey questions, were about impacts to others, rather than themselves. Concern and empathy for fellow community members鈥� well-being is something that we should want to cultivate for many reasons, but specifically in a pandemic context, there鈥檚 evidence that decreased concern for others鈥� well-being is correlated with decreased compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions. Something we should also think about while preparing for future crises is how we can foster the concern for others and the sense of community that were clearly present during the early stages of the pandemic to make sure they endure.听听

NE: The pandemic influenced the development 鈥� or at least accelerated the uptake 鈥� of systems that allowed many folks to work safely from the comfort of their own home without financial or employment impacts. However, folks with jobs in 鈥渆ssential鈥� services and sectors often had to physically report to work, and often interface with the public. My colleague, Marissa Baker, found that . Accordingly, I鈥檇 suspect that employment and financial concerns would be disproportionately borne among lower wage workers, who would have to choose between their health and safety and their income. In advance of the next pandemic, we need to figure out ways to keep these folks safe and at work.听听

For more information, contact Errett at nerrett@uw.edu or Moloney at kmoloney@uw.edu.听

Three current 91探花scientists were among the authors of the assessment, which summarizes climate change that has already occurred, and that is projected in coming decades. This fifth edition includes two new chapters, on economics and on social systems and justice.

, a professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences, was an author on the chapter on . Ebi also co-authored the human health chapter of the fourth assessment, released in 2019, and was a contributing author to the same chapter in

“It is indisputable that climate change is harming human health and well-being, from exposure to extreme weather and climate events, changes in the geographic range and seasonality of infectious diseases, alterations in air quality, reductions in food- and water-security, and impacts on mental wellness,” Ebi said. “Historically marginalized and under-resourced communities face greater harms and exacerbations of health inequities. Future health risks could be reduced, but not eliminated, by strengthening health systems, implementing effective adaptation measures, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.”

Dr. , a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, of global health and of emergency medicine, was an author on the chapter. Hess was previously a lead author of the human health chapter in the third assessment.

“We have ample evidence that climate change is worsening air pollution 鈥� in part due to increasing wildfire smoke and pollen levels 鈥� and there are clear and worsening impacts on human health,” Hess said. “These impacts are felt most acutely in low-income communities and communities of color. But we also know that smart policies and coordinated action can simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and improve health for all, particularly the most impacted.”

, a research scientist at the Climate Impacts Group, was a co-author of the . She also contributed to a cross-cutting section , a new feature that centralizes critical information on key trends.

鈥淭he Fifth National Climate Assessment includes more information on response actions and emphasizes action at the state and local levels,鈥� Raymond said. Since 2018, Raymond said, adaptation plans and actions at the city and state level have increased by about a third across the U.S.

Raymond also highlighted the increased focus on engagement in the assessment process, and special steps that have been taken to increase the accessibility of the assessment to wider audiences.

鈥淭he process included more opportunities for public engagement, and the fifth assessment includes some great new communication features 鈥� Spanish translation, a six-episode podcast series, 92 art pieces featured throughout the assessment and forthcoming regional webinars and workshops,鈥� Raymond said.

also co-authored the Northwest chapter while she was affiliated with the 91探花Climate Impacts Group. Asinas is now at the Urban Ocean Project in Brooklyn, New York.

听

For more information, contact Ebi at krisebi@uw.edu, Hess at jjhess@uw.edu and Raymond at clrfire@uw.edu.

The New York Climate Exchange, a first-of-its-kind organization working to implement innovative climate solutions in New York City and across the globe, on Nov. 9 Stephen Hammer as its founding chief executive officer.

Hammer is a global climate policy expert who has served as top climate advisor at the World Bank for the past decade. In his new role as CEO of , Hammer will lead a first-ever consortium of more than 45 partner organizations committed to solving the most pressing climate challenges of our time.

The 91探花 is a core member of The New York Climate Exchange, which launched in April. Several 91探花faculty members are already involved with the initiative, which brings together universities, governments and businesses to address climate change action and adaptation. Plans include an interactive living laboratory with 400,000 square feet of green-designed building space, incorporating research labs, classroom space, exhibits, greenhouses, mitigation technologies and housing facilities.

, dean of the 91探花 College of the Environment and board member of The Exchange, co-chaired the CEO search committee along with Chaouki T. Abdallah, vice chair of the board of directors and executive vice president for research at the Georgia Institute of Technology

鈥淲e could not be more pleased to welcome Dr. Stephen Hammer, who embodies The Exchange鈥檚 mission,鈥� Tolstoy and Abdallah said. 鈥淗e has an international network and unrivaled New York City experience, and he鈥檚 uniquely qualified to be a 鈥楥onvener-in-Chief鈥� for experts everywhere at a time when humanity needs it most.鈥�

Eric Adams, mayor of New York, and the Trust for Governors Island selected The New York Climate Exchange 鈥� known as The Exchange 鈥� following a two-year competitive process seeking an educational and research partner to anchor a cross-sector center dedicated to developing and scaling climate solutions for New York City and beyond. The Exchange will eventually be housed in a $700 million state-of-the-art facility on Governors Island, set to open in 2028.

With experience driving climate policy in New York City and internationally, Hammer is well positioned to convene partners across sectors to advance climate solutions in New York City. Most recently, Dr. Hammer spent a decade at the World Bank as senior policy advisor on urban-scale climate solutions, global climate policy and finance issues, where he spearheaded key climate partnerships with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Secretary General鈥檚 team, and the G20, and supported efforts to mainstream climate change into all facets of the World Bank鈥檚 lending operations.

previously held faculty posts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Columbia University鈥檚 School of International and Public Affairs, and the Pratt Institute, where he specialized in urban energy systems and policy, often with a specific focus on New York City. He also co-founded and co-directed the鈥�, an international consortium of researchers interested in climate change from an urban perspective, and served on Mayor Bloomberg鈥檚 Energy Policy Task Force.

鈥淯nder our administration, New York City is becoming the global leader in developing solutions for climate change while creating thousands of good-paying green jobs for New Yorkers,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淲ith the appointment of Dr. Hammer as the CEO of the first-in-the-nation New York Climate Exchange, our city takes one step closer to opening this hub of future innovation, bringing together our leading research and educational institutions, and creating the economic and academic opportunities New Yorkers deserve. His academic expertise and proven record of leadership in New York City and across the globe make Dr. Hammer uniquely positioned to serve as the Exchange鈥檚 first leader.鈥�

Comprised of world-class organizations across academia, business and community, The Exchange鈥檚 partner network fosters collaboration to drive innovation and implement impactful solutions. With 14 academic and corporate organizations and over 30 community entities from environmental justice, research, and government organizations in New York City, partners have begun to work together to advance climate education, research, job training, public programs and commercialization to prepare communities to respond to climate challenges. These efforts are aided by initial investments of a combined $100 million from the Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International, and $50 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

鈥淭here is truly no organization like this across the globe. Worldwide, too many sectors 鈥� the business community, nonprofits, government, academics and more 鈥� are working in silos. The Exchange is not just another institute 鈥� it鈥檚 part think tank, part do-tank 鈥� serving as a training ground for the climate leaders of tomorrow and an incubator for technology and market entrepreneurs. It鈥檚 meant to innovate and have an impact, to defend science, and to make New York City a living laboratory for international solutions. Climate change is going to reverberate across the world and every aspect of society, and working with our world-class partners, we鈥檙e going to bring people together to deliver real impact on this collective, existential challenge,鈥� Hammer said.

Partners of The Exchange include:

• • • Boston Consulting Group
    • Georgia Institute of Technology
    • Good Old Lower East Side
    • IBM
    • Pace University
    • Pratt Institute
    • Stony Brook University
    • 91探花
    • Duke University
    • 惭辞辞诲测鈥檚
    • New York University
    • Rochester Institute of Technology
    • SUNY Maritime College
    • The City University of New York
    • University of Oxford

Adapted from the New York Climate Exchange . For more information, contact ClimateExchange@skdknick.com, or Tolstoy at coenvcom@uw.edu. 听

The 91探花鈥檚 new , or CDRC, has been selected to lead development of a workplan for a regional public health emergency preparedness and response center that will help prepare the Northwest for disasters and emergencies. 听

Under a $1.8 million contract with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 91探花will convene partners across Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Oregon to develop a workplan to establish a future regional Center for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response. The 91探花will also support development of a tribal-specific workplan that addresses the public health emergency preparedness and response needs and priorities of tribal partners across the region, as well as develop a model for a regional data ecosystem that can support the uptake of evidence-based strategies in public health emergency preparedness and response. 听

鈥淭his funding will support a partner-driven process to shape a future center for evidence-informed public health emergency preparedness and response that serves the needs of community and government partners in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington,鈥� said , CDRC director and a 91探花assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences. 听

鈥淲e are really excited to bring together community, tribal, healthcare, public health practice, emergency management and other partners to identify focus areas for the center and approaches the center can take to support their work.” 听

There will be a separate competitive funding opportunity to develop the Center for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response itself, which will become part of a nationwide network of such centers. 听

, the CDRC brings together the full breadth and depth of the UW鈥檚 expertise in disaster science to help build resilient communities. The center seeks to unite more than 100 91探花faculty from across the university, including disaster researchers, engineers, data and environmental scientists, as well as experts in public health, medicine, nursing and public policy and planning. 听

Those experts will offer resources, training, technical assistance and evidence-based solutions to help communities prepare themselves for potential disasters. Researchers will also collaborate with community, tribal and government partners to identify each community鈥檚 specific needs and implement tailored solutions. 听

The Center is supported by the UW鈥檚 Population Health Initiative, a university-wide effort that fosters a collaborative approach to improving human health, environmental resilience, and social and economic equity. 听

For more information, contact Resham Patel at rapatel@uw.edu. 听