1) Does your work require IRB approval right now?
The Almaty Air Quality group will require IRB approval for the upcoming survey that will be sent out to Almaty residents. We need to prepare our approval application as we are formulating our survey questions. Our need for the IRB strategy centers around our plans to conduct surveys with the residents of Almaty. These surveys will involve collecting information regarding demographics, daily habits, work/school data, and general health information. This data will be aggregated to inform the user profiles for our app and help determine suggested interventions for poor air quality days. The research we are conducting does not entail any risk and our IRB strategy will include details on how we plan to anonymize data and keep the collected data secure in order to maintain the privacy of all survey participants.
2) Develop an outline for your mid-semester presentations. What supporting evidence will you provide for each point? How will you boost your credibility every step of the way?
Explain the problem (30s)
Air quality in Kazakhstan has been significantly impacting the respiratory health of its residents. In order to explain this problem, we can gather the percentage of people with respiratory illness in Kazakhstan. For example, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report for Kazakhstan addresses lower respiratory infection is one of the main causes for one’s reduced lifetime in 2010. Also the Astana Time is a local Kazakhstan news website that is available in English for further information. In addition, Kazakhstan favors the usage of coal and electricity from power plants due to its low cost in comparison to renewable energy. We will cite reputable news articles or research papers that address this economic aspect and we have found reports published by the United Nations. Also, we can potentially gather information on how much the government pays for their citizen’s healthcare. Since healthcare in Kazakhstan is free, increased respiratory illness can pose a financial burden on the country’s economy. Furthermore, research articles on the topics of infant mortality or chronic illness and car accidents due to reduced visibility by the smog to stress the importance of this issue.
Our approach- Air Quality Almaty App
Our approach to mitigate the negative health effects that the citizens of Kazakhstan have is the development of our app. After the apps implementation, we hope to see a decrease in air pollution related health problems, alleviating the healthcare system.
Explain the app/how is it going to work
By categorizing the apps users in relation to how much air exposure they have which directly correlates to how much particulate matter they ingest, we can give specific advice on how to significantly decrease their exposure. We are also going to suggest helpful products such as air filters, masks, and air purifiers based on the profile of every user which will aid to the mitigation of their exposure.
What larger context/system does the app exist in? Illustrate how the various constituent subsystems work together? How does the system interact with the external environment?
Poor air quality and the related health impacts is not a new concern in Almaty and we are not the first group of people working to provide possible interventions. A significant portion of our research has been in regards to previous and ongoing efforts to both improve air quality and reduce the impacts of poor air quality on the residents of Almaty. The sources of the poor air quality are known; however, it is technically, politically, and economically difficult to have a measurable impact on the levels of air pollution in Almaty. For this reason, we have focused on how we can help people better predict, understand, and avoid the worst of the air pollution’s impacts. We also recognize that our project exists within a political atmosphere that has not always been favorable to open discussion about the severity of the air pollution problem. Acknowledgement of these dynamics and understanding the political and social climate of Almaty as it relates to air pollution and data sharing will help us navigate both the surveying phase and launching the app.
As we develop this app, a main component will be the ability to integrate reliable, up to date air quality data and forecasts. Building this relationship between the app, our team, and the teams working to monitor air quality and publish air quality data in Almaty will be essential to the success of our project.
There are also many companies in Almaty whose employees are at greater risk for air pollution related health problems because of the type of work they do. Understanding who these employees and employers are and the best ways in which to communicate with these key constituents will be helpful as we establish a customer base. We will also have to develop different communication strategies for different customers as what attracts an active college student to the app may be very different than what attracts employers of at-risk individuals.
Results of literature review/prototyping/experimentation/modeling
The research from the earlier Air Quality in Almaty group indicated increased exposure to pollutants when driving a personal vehicle and/or sitting in traffic, walking near busy roads, exercising in polluted areas. There is also a difference in pollution at different times of the day.
1. To travel, it is recommended to use public transportation as opposed to private vehicles.
2. These scholarly articles recommend staying away from busy streets and transitioning to bikes for short distance traveling
3. The articles suggest exercising early in the morning or at night, and in more rural areas if possible.
4. People should wear masks for prolonged outdoor air exposure.
Research indicates there is substantial pollution inside Almaty homes. The pollution is due to gases from the outside getting trapped inside or from burning wood (or other substances), and cooking.
1. Almaty residents should make sure there is circulation in areas of the house where wood will be burned or cooking will happen.
2. Almaty residents should use air purifiers to make sure they aren’t inhaling as many pollutants at home.
The earlier group also laid out sensitive populations. These consist of elderly, adolescents, infants, young children, athsmatic residents, athletes (in that they may inhale more pollution due to heavier breathing), outdoor workers and smokers.
1. Since general health is a large factor in whether you’re effected by poor air quality, parents should reinforce exercising and eating well.
2. Sensitive groups should be doing everything mentioned earlier.
3. It is a good idea to wear a mask when traveling in polluted areas.
4. Very sensitive groups might consider moving out of the city and into more rural areas.
Identify research/design challenges and detailed plans to address them
Difficult to access information about the attitudes toward air pollution so we know what to ask on the survey. We need to make sure we are targeting the correct questions so we get the information we want. We have interviewed our AlmaU partners and we plan to integrate their answers into our survey. It could be difficult to incentivize people to take the survey that do not go to university in Kz. The solution might be contacting environmental blog writers and news sources to broaden our reach.
– We need to make sure we create an app that is usable and smart.
– We will work with software engineers and a user interface designer. We will also collaborate with our AlmaU partners to make sure it serves their needs.
Evidence we need to provide
Healthcare costs
Percentage of ppl with respiratory issues as compared with other countries and other KZ cities
Severity of air pollution levels
Quantitative data on average AQI and seasonal AQI
Earlier research
Put their info into profiles
Background research on sources of air pollution in Almaty
Background research on health impacts of air pollution exposure
Hard progress to present (not research)
Draft of the app
Fully developed survey questions and outreach strategy
Completed interviews with AlmaU students