This project aims to gather stakeholder input to help develop an intervention to reduce risk of wildfire smoke (WFS) for children with asthma. WFS has become an increasingly important public health concern in the Pacific Northwest as the number of fires and length of fire season continue to increase due to climate change. Children with asthma are especially sensitive to health effects from WFS. While there are many public health recommendations that give guidance on how to avoid WFS exposure, this advice can be hard to implement in real life.
Our team has developed a draft Wildfire Smoke Action Plan intended to empower families of children with asthma to reduce their child’s risk of WFS exposure. This research project will gather stakeholder input on the content of the action plan, which will be used to revise and improve the plan for future implementation in Washington state. We aim to interview a variety of stakeholders, including parents, public health practitioners, academic experts, healthcare providers and members of community-based organizations to elicit their perspectives on the action plan’s potential effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility.