Researchers receive grant to investigate whether living in homes with damp basement impacts health
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Researchers from several area institutions received a significant federal grant to investigate whether living in a home with a damp basement impacts a person's physical and/or mental health.
The study, titled "Health and High Water: Health Impacts of Increased Rainfall on Families Living in Racially Isolated Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh PA," was recently awarded nearly $1.35 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"It's about climate change, it's about extreme weather and the health impact on residents," said Tamara Dubowitz, principal investigator and senior policy researcher with RAND Corporation.
In the simplest terms, the basis of the research, according to those involved, is to understand what heavy rain does to basement air quality and in turn, how it impacts people, specifically those living in predominantly Black, low-income neighborhoods.
The project, according to the EPA, will build on a research relationship that's been established over more than a decade with participants in Pittsburgh's Hill District and Homewood neighborhoods.
RAND Corporation, a non-profit research organization, develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous, according to the website.
Over the next three years, their researchers will work in collaboration with Homewood Children's Village, the University of Pittsburgh and Black Environmental Collective to gather data on the topic and then develop and disseminate community-and based solutions to address the resulting health issues.
"When you have issues that are weather-related, there can be multiple health effects both respiratory and mental health effects," Dubowitz said.
The projected grant amount of $1,349,997 will go into documenting the information collected, Dubowitz explained.
"So, are basements moist? And if they are moist, are there contaminants in the basements that are related to the health of households," she said.
The impacts also aren't limited to certain ages. Raymond Robinson works with Homewood Children's Village, a youth support organization, and is a co-investigator for the project.
"You've got a lot of households in this community dealing with damp basements," Robinson said. "We know what comes with that, the respiratory illnesses and whatnot. Then you have a bunch of kids that have asthma which impacts their attendance, which impacts their grades, which impacts their opportunities."
In doing the work, researchers said they would also be able to establish documentation and bring awareness to the issue of flooding and health that would not only be helpful to current participants but also future residents of these communities.
Robinson said his involvement in conjunction with Homewood Children's Village is rooted in human relations meaning, they'll be listening and talking face-to-face so that participants understand that the money and motivation behind this work are in their best interest.
"We're giving them some hope that we can hopefully, address these issues so that things change," Robinson said. "These are federal dollars coming in through our partners to say, 'hey, how do we support the residents here?'"
He said he wants to make sure they understand that the work being done is being done with the purpose of supporting the people who live in the Hill District and Homewood and those who hope to be life-long residents.