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“Since asthma surveillance data were not available at the census tract level for most of Louisiana, we estimated asthma burden using the inpatient discharge data available through LDH.”  (4)

“Case counts are not provided for CTs with a 2018 population of less than 800 to safeguard privacy.” (4)

“To minimize the need for suppression, inpatient discharge data was aggregated for the three most recent years available (2017–2019) and average annual crude rates were calculated for cases where asthma (ICD-10 code J45) was the primary diagnosis, as well as where asthma was any diagnosis.” (4)

“Spearman’s Rank Correlation was utilized to analyze the correlation between various social and environmental vulnerability factors, COVID-19 incidence, and the measures of asthma risk by CT.” (4)

“This was performed by first ranking the values in each dataset using RANK.AVG function in MS Excel 2016, followed by applying the PEARSON function to compare two datasets. Significance was set at alpha less than 0.05 (α < 0.05), with degrees of freedom (df) equal to two less than the total number of data points represented in both datasets” (4)

The research team works for the Section of Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology, Office of Public Health, Louisiana Department of Health in Baton Rouge. Team members included Arundhati Bakshi; Shanon Soileau; Collete Stewart; Kate Friedman; Collete Maser; Alexis Williams; Kathleen Aubin; and Alicia Van Doren. 

“Currently, much of the environmental focus of the pandemic remains on PM2.5 levels; however, we noted that higher levels of ozone was consistently associated with higher incidence rates of COVID-19, and it was the only environmental factor that appeared to have an additive effect over SVI on COVID-19 incidence (Fig 1).” (11)

“Specifically, our data show a moderately strong positive correlation between SVI due to minority status/language barrier and three health data variables: asthma hospitalization; estimated asthma prevalence; and cumulative COVID-19 incidence at 3 months (Table 2). Interestingly, SVI measures were either negatively or not significantly correlated COVID-19 incidence at the 9-and 12-month time points, indicating that social vulnerability factors may have played a greater role in COVID-19 spread early in the pandemic, but may have been of diminishing importance as the pandemic wore on (Fig 1 and Table 2).” (9)

Bakshi A, Van Doren A, Maser C, Aubin K, Stewart C, Soileau S, et al. (2022) Identifying Louisiana communities at the crossroads of environmental and social vulnerability, COVID-19, and asthma. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0264336. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264336. 

This document uses data resources from the Center for Disease Control/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH).

These data resources include the Social Vulnerability Index (2018 - CDC/ATSDR), the NATA Respiratory Hazard Index (EPA 2014), PM2.5level (average annual concentration in ug/m3, EPA 2016), ozone level (summer seasonal average of daily maximum 8-hour concentration in air in parts per billion, EPA 2016), indoor mold concerns reported to IEQES program (average annual number of calls, LDH 2017-2019), cumulative COVID-19 incidence rate at 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month increments (LDH March 2020 - March 2021), asthma hospitalization (average annual crude rate, where asthma was a primary diagnosis among hospitalization cases, LDH 2017-2019), and estimated asthma prevalence (average annual crude rate, where asthma was any diagnosis among hospitalization cases, LDH 2017-2019).

1. How does the EHC approach issues of power and privilege within the local community, given how the history of environmental justice is rooted in low-income communities of color?

2. What role do you see the EHC working towards in promoting future policy change and advancing environmental justice at the local, state, and national levels? What are some challenges and opportunities facing the EHC in this work?

1.  The EHC is generally perceived as a respected and influential organization, internally and externally. Within the organization and its community, there is a strong sense of shared purpose and commitment to advancing environmental justice and healthy communities. The EHC staff and volunteers are deeply committed to the organization's mission and are viewed as knowledgeable and passionate advocates for environmental health and justice. The 

2. The EHC is considered a credible organization with a reputation for effective research and advocacy work to promote environmental justice. The EHC is consulted by policymakers and stakeholders for environmental health and justice issues and is regarded as a valuable source of information and expertise.

EHC is a well-established and respected organization within the environmental justice sector with a track record of successful campaigns and policy victories. The organization has been active for over 40 years and is well-established and respected within the community it serves. The organization has been instrumental in shaping local policy and advocacy efforts. It has thus been recognized by a range of other organizations and institutions, including the California Environmental Protection Agency, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The EHC has proven to be an essential actor within the environmental justice and public health sectors, with a strong record of community organizing, policy advocacy, and credible research.

The EHC functions within the non-profit sector and works to serve the environmental justice and public health fields. As an environmental justice organization, EHC’s mission is to empower communities and promote health and justice through community organizing, policy advocacy, research, and education.

The EHC collaborates with various organizations, including critical collaborators such as The California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA), The San Diego Coalition for Environmental and Social Justice, and The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. The EHC does not typically criticize or distance itself from other organizations and instead focuses on building collaborative working partnerships to advance its mission and goals.

Several political and discursive currents, including The Environmental Justice Movement, Climate Change, Political and Policy Shifts, and Community Mobilization, influence the EHC. Actors within the organization are attuned to these currents and work to navigate them to promote environmental justice and healthy communities.

1. The dominant discourse within the EHC centers on empowering communities to develop community-led solutions to environmental health and justice issues. The organization's mission emphasizes empowering locals and educating them to identify and address environmental health risks. EHC is focused on equity and social justice, recognizing that ecological health disparities often result from systemic and historical injustice.