#BUandBoston: Leila Heidari Helps Measure Heat

By: Douglas Darrah

Forty percent of those who die from heat stroke are over 65, even though that demographic makes up less than 15 percent of the US population. According to the Center for Disease Control, older adults do not adjust to changes in temperature as well as younger people and are more likely to have underlying conditions that increase their risks. With that in mind, Leila Heidari, a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Health, began studying the experiences of Boston seniors last summer.

Research was conducted at the Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) Senior Center in Dorchester. According to Heidari, the researchers were “studying both their exposures to temperature and humidity that they experienced personally and in their homes as well as their exposure experience.” The researchers wanted to measure both the danger that their subjects were in and how they coped with it.

The researchers gave their participants cameras and instructed them to document their experiences with heat through photography. This technique is called “photovoice” and is an increasingly popular ethnographic method. A recent methodological review by a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pretoria noted how “it is typically used with marginalized populations that have been silenced in the political arena.”

The participants were asked to focus on three areas: air conditioning and cool spaces, parks and green spaces, and health and feeling hot. For the first topic, one woman noted that she used a fan on her ground floor but a window mounted AC unit on her second story. This let her keep her downstairs windows shut and her house safe from intruders. Other people noted that public green spaces like Franklin Park were invaluable to them, but that they were not always safe and inviting. That is the type of knowledge that Heidari “could only access through a qualitative method.”

Heidari also worked with Andrea Burns, the Director of the Age Strong Commission. Age Strong is an initiative by the Boston city government that focuses on making the city friendlier for its elderly citizens. Heidari’s research helps them understand how they could help older Bostonians respond to heat specific challenges. The BU Initiative on Cities also helped fund her research with an Early Stage Urban Research Award.

She eventually presented her research to several city officials. For her, “that was really good because participatory action research is about calling of action at the end of the day.” Creating channels of communications with the necessary decision makers helped her do that.

At the end of the project, Heidari and the participants had a wrap up focus group where they discussed what they had all learned throughout the project. In addition to increasing awareness about heat as a safety hazard, many of the participants had a better understanding of their physical and cardiovascular health as well as the importance of community support.

Heidari and the Initiative on Cities are looking into ways to expand this study this coming summer. Current plans include having multiple groups in other neighborhoods such as Chelsea and East Boston. They also want to include Spanish speaking groups that better reflect these diverse neighborhoods. Hopefully, this will give both Heidari and the City of Boston a better understanding of what their senior citizens need from them.

This post is part of our #BUandBoston series, highlighting the work and research of BU students, faculty, and staff throughout the City of Boston. Interested in having your Boston-related work featured? Tag us on Instagram or Twitter (@BUonCities) using the #BUandBoston or send us an email at ioc@bu.edu.