TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Environmental street audits and black carbon measurements in Vietnamese immigrant communities
JO  - Progress in community health partnerships : research, education, and action
A1  - Quach, Thu
A1  - Garcia, Erika
A1  - Von Behren, Julie
A1  - Tran, Jacqueline
A1  - Tran, Tina Duyen
A1  - Fu, Lisa
A1  - Gomez, Scarlett
A1  - Luu, Vinh
A1  - Ahlfenger, Thanh
A1  - Reynolds, Peggy
SP  - 179
EP  - 190
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
N2  - BACKGROUND: The Vietnamese population has grown significantly in California and has clustered in geographic areas with potential disproportionate exposures to environmental stressors. No studies to date have focused on environmental exposures in this immigrant population. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To characterize neighborhood-level environmental hazards in Vietnamese communities in California to inform environmental health research. <br><br>METHODS: We engaged Vietnamese community members in the Alameda, Marin, Orange, and Santa Clara regions to conduct community audits in neighborhoods where they lived and worked. Audits included surveys of observational neighborhood characteristics, Photovoice documentary and real-time personal black carbon (BC) aerosol monitors. <br><br>RESULTS: Traffic-related air pollution, litter, smoking, and neighborhood safety were identified as major environmental concerns. Audits in Alameda County reported a higher percentage of metal bars on windows and litter relative to other counties. Orange County had the highest percentage of audit segments with idling trucks (20.8%) and tobacco ads (8.3%), as well as average 5-minute truck count (9.8). The mean BC concentration across all four regions was 1.8 μg/m3, and ranged from 1.7 μg/m3 in Santa Clara County to 2.0 μg/m3 in Orange County. When analyzed at smaller geographic units (neighborhoods), there was more variation across the regions, with Alameda County having the highest neighborhood concentration (7.7 μg/m3). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed higher mean BC concentrations at the regional and neighborhood levels compared with the statewide concentration (0.737 μg/m3). Community members collected quantitative and qualitative data including real-time BC data. The audit process helped to initiate dialogue about environmental health issues in the Vietnamese communities.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1557-0541
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2015.0036
ID  - ref1
ER  -