The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recognizes the connection between environmental factors and public health, and they believe that access to clean resources, like the air we breathe, is a basic human right. Research has shown that the industries located in Guayama may affect the air quality of surrounding communities, such as Puente de Jobos. These industrial activities contribute to the deposit of components like coal ash and fly ash and have increased since the early 2000s, becoming a major concern for the residents in the area. This project leverages on a co-created community-based research approach that aims to increase the knowledge of historical and current trends of air pollution in Guayama, Puerto Rico. Our project focuses on the development of a health profile for the community in Puente de Jobos to identify prevalent diseases and potential sources of exposure. Our methodology includes the recruitment of Puente de Jobos residents during the Fall of 2022. We partnered with two community-based organizations Iniciativa de Ecodesarrollo de Bahía de Jobos and Comunidad Guayamesa Unidos Por la Salud. We expect to recruit 50 participants. Recruited participants will complete a survey that asks demographic, social and environmental factors to tackle potential predictors of exposure. We will also collect information about chronic health conditions, including respiratory diseases. Data will be cleaned and verified for quality purposes. A table of relative and cumulative frequencies will be created. The prevalence of disease and health conditions among the population will be calculated. As a last step in our analysis, we will compare the current prevalence of diseases with previous reports of 2016 to establish how diseases might change over time. Finally, we will report back our results to the community and provide a written report. Our project contributes and integrates multiple disciplines including community base research, epidemiology, public health, environmental science, social sciences, and data science. Moreover, our findings will provide useful information to the Puerto Rico community in general, but also communities and the local organizations to advocate for future environmental justice initiatives.

Paola Rodriguez-Montoyo

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