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Extreme heat is the cause of most US weather-related deaths and is a serious risk for older adults, children, and people with medical issues living in vulnerable neighborhoods. This study explored how extreme heat events affect vulnerable communities, focusing on people’s perceptions, adaptive behaviors, and social network support. Mobile ecological momentary assessment through Short Message Service was employed to collect real-time data from residents in a socioeconomically challenged urban neighborhood in Iowa. Participants responded to text messages with survey links twice daily during heat events over the summer, in which they were asked about their perceptions and behaviors. The results show the need for targeted, inclusive, and effective heat warnings and social network support to reduce heat risks and help vulnerable communities better cope with extreme heat.
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This content will become publicly available on July 27, 2026
Evaluating User Perceptions and Usability of CommHEAT: A Community-Based Heat Alert Application
This research aims to design a community-focused indoor heat emergency alert system for vulnerable populations during extreme heat events. The impacts of extreme heat events are becoming more severe, especially for vulnerable populations. Current warning systems lack information about indoor conditions, and many people do not realize the heat risk, appropriate actions, or available cooling resources. The CommHEAT application is designed based on the Fogg Behavior Model to promote people’s heat-protective behaviors during extreme heat events. It has three key features: customized indoor heat risk prediction, community monitoring and support, and location-based resources. A multi-mode concept testing (exploratory interaction, task-based scenarios, and semi-structured interviews) was conducted with nine heat-vulnerable residents and three stakeholders to evaluate the CommHEAT application prototype. The result shows that this smartphone-based app prototype is promising as an intervention for protecting people from extreme heat. However, the results also identified challenges like trust issues and privacy concerns. Future work will focus on improving the application and assessing its impact on residents’ behavior change during extreme heat events.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2226880
- PAR ID:
- 10618598
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
- Volume:
- 69
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1071-1813
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 988-993
- Size(s):
- p. 988-993
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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