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Community assets as protective factors buffering health effects of environmental hazards: framework and considerations for environmental epidemiologists
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Community assets as protective factors buffering health effects of environmental hazards: framework and considerations for environmental epidemiologists

Lisa Frueh, Rachit Sharma, Ellen Kinnee, Laura Kubzansky, Perry E Sheffield and Jane E Clougherty
Environmental research, health : ERH, v 4(1), 013002
22 Jan 2026
url
https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ae3c3cView
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

community assets environmental justice environmental epidemiology
Disparities in the adverse health effects due to ambient environmental exposures have long been documented in the environmental epidemiology literature. A growing body of literature has focused on how detrimental aspects of the physical environment (e.g., poor housing quality) and social environment (e.g., chronic social stressors) can exacerbate the adverse health effects of environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution, heat). However, the literature on protective factors which might mitigate adverse health effects of environmental exposure is more limited. We borrow from the climate resilience and disaster preparedness literature to discuss how protective community assets may be identified, operationalized, and understood in environmental epidemiologic research. By outlining mechanisms through which assets may protect environmental health (e.g., through susceptibility vs. exposure pathways), this framework can help researchers select and understand appropriate assets to test as effect modifiers (or mediators) of associations between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes. We posit that research focused on community assets can inform scalable, impactful health-promoting interventions.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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