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Principal Investigator: Carina Gronlund
Organization: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $596,556
Funding agency: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
PROJECT SUMMARY
The homes of millions of older Americans do not provide adequate protection from extreme temperatures,
due in large part to “energy poverty.” Modifications to homes that increase energy efficiency and improve
indoor temperatures may reduce the adverse neuropsychological health impacts of extreme temperatures.
Indoor temperatures may impact sleep quality and short-term cognitive function, and high utility bills may
exacerbate the psychosocial stress of financial worry. Some of the health benefits of weatherization have been
previously characterized, including reductions in emergency department visits related to asthma. We propose
to evaluate the health and financial impacts of low-cost and higher-cost weatherization programs, considering
the novel or under-studied outcomes of financial worry, cognitive function, and sleep quality and duration. We
propose to enroll three categories of participants: those of a low-cost weatherization program in a cold climate
(Detroit, MI), those of a high-cost weatherization program in a cold climate (Madison, WI), and those of a high-
cost weatherization program in a warm climate (Memphis, TN). In a longitudinal study with sleep cycle
measurements (actigraphy), multiple surveys and sub-hourly indoor temperature and humidity monitoring per
person over one year of participation, we aim to characterize 1) associations of indoor temperatures with
cognitive function and sleep quality and duration and 2) associations of low- and high-cost weatherization
programs with indoor environmental parameters (temperature, humidity) and financial worry. In aim 3), we will
characterize the monetized health impacts of low- and high-cost weatherization programs in terms of both
community-wide air pollution benefits (related to reduced energy consumption) and recipient-specific health
benefits identified in previous research and any benefits from aims 1 and 2. This research will advance our
long-term objectives of reducing the health impacts of extreme weather, characterizing the health impacts of
the home environment, and reducing disparities in the health impacts of energy generation and use. This
research will inform policies for energy efficiency and weatherization subsidies, considering that medical
savings from expenditures on housing upgrades would potentially reduce state- or federally-subsidized
healthcare expenditures. Such interventions may improve the health of older adults via improvements to indoor
temperatures and reductions in utility costs and help households both mitigate (through decreased energy
usage) and adapt to extreme weather.
Terms: <Address><Air><Air Pollution><Airway health><American><Asthma><Bronchial Asthma><Categories><Cities><Climate><Cognition><Cold Climate><Communities><Cost Savings><Cost utility><Costs and Benefits><Decrease disparity><ED visit><ER visit><Education><Educational aspects><Emergency care visit><Emergency department visit><Emergency hospital visit><Emergency room visit><Energy consumption><Enrollment><Evaluation><Expenditure><Exposure to><Financial Hardship><Fire - disasters><Fires><Food><Funding><Generations><Health><Health Benefit><Health Expenditures><High temperature of physical object><Home><Home environment><Hour><Household><Housing><Humidity><Impoverished><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Laboratories><Longitudinal Studies><Low income><Lower disparity><Measurement><Measures><Medical><Medicine><Meteorological Climate><Modification><Monitor><Morbidity><Morbidity - disease rate><Neuropsychologies><Neuropsychology><Occupational><Outcome><Participant><Persons><Policies><Poverty><Power Plants><Probability><Program Evaluation><Psychosocial Stress><Reporting><Research><Risk><Savings><Shapes><Sleep><Survey Instrument><Surveys><Temperature><Weather><actigraph><actigraphy><ambient air pollution><climatic><cognitive function><cost><disparity in health><disparity reduction><energy efficiency><enroll><extreme temperature><extreme weather><financial adversity><financial burden><financial distress><financial insecurity><financial strain><financial stress><fire><health care expenditure><health disparity><healthcare expenditure><high temperature><homes><improved><intervention effect><intervention program><interventional strategy><long-term study><longitudinal outcome studies><longterm study><medical expenditure><mitigate disparity><mortality><neuropsychologic><novel><nutrition><older adult><older adulthood><outdoor air pollution><programs><quality of sleep><reduce disparity><reduction in disparity><respiratory health><response><seal><sleep quality><supported housing><supportive housing>