Identifying risk information needs of rural communities impacted by wildfire smoke: A mental models approach

As wildfire activity continues to increase throughout much of the western US, questions remain about how to effectively communicate wildfire smoke risk to harder-to-reach groups, including rural populations. Standard public health strategies rely largely on risk assessment and communication informed by available air quality data. However, rural populations can be difficult to reach through traditional communication channels and air quality monitoring to inform messaging can be absent or scarce. As efforts increase to expand air quality monitoring into rural regions, there is a need to identify and affirm the most effective content and communication channels for motivating protective action. We used a mental models approach to identify wildfire smoke risk information needs and preferred communication channels in three rural counties in northern Nevada. Participants revealed a substantial knowledge base with opportunities for enhancement related to the range of potential physical and mental health impacts, vulnerable groups, and exposure mitigation strategies. Preferred communication channels were varied but almost exclusively local. The mental models approach also uncovered important barriers to exposure mitigation as well as potential areas of future research. Insights gained from this study will be used to inform targeted wildfire smoke risk communication for rural Nevada counties and may serve to motivate similar studies in other rural regions. Identifying similarities and differences in information needs and preferred communication channels can help inform understanding of how and why to tailor wildfire smoke risk communication. Any new messaging developed from such studies should be evaluated to ensure its effectiveness.