Wildfires, exacerbated by climate change and population growth in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), pose a significant public health threat due to increased smoke exposure. Wildfire smoke, an unregulated air pollutant, causes a wide range of adverse health effects, from mild respiratory symptoms to cardiovascular issues, hospitalizations, and even death. The economic burden of wildfire smoke-related health impacts is substantial, reaching billions of dollars. Current mitigation strategies have shown modest and unequal benefits, highlighting the need for more effective health risk communication approaches. The challenge lies in motivating behavior change and bridging the gap between intentions and actions in adopting health protective measures. The unpredictability of wildfire smoke events, coupled with variable risk perceptions and perceived costs associated with behavioral changes, contributes to this intention-action gap. This paper introduces the Smoke Sense citizen science project and proposes a novel approach that integrates citizen science and behavioral science to enhance the effectiveness of health risk communication strategies.

The introduction cites numerous studies linking wildfire smoke exposure to various adverse health outcomes (Adetona et al., 2016; Black et al., 2017; Dennekamp and Abramson, 2011; Dodd et al., 2018; Haikerwal et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2015; Morgan et al., 2010; Rappold et al., 2011; Reid et al., 2016; Wettstein et al., 2018; Wyatt et al., 2020; Cleland et al., 2022). These studies highlight the significant public health burden associated with wildfire smoke and the economic costs involved (Fann et al., 2018; Jones, 2017; Kochi et al., 2010). The authors also refer to studies that explore the heterogeneity of smoke impacts and challenges in identifying susceptible subgroups (Kondo et al., 2019). Furthermore, existing literature indicates the limitations of current mitigation approaches (Burke et al., 2022) and the need for strategies that address behavioral factors influencing the adoption of health protective measures. Previous work on behavior change interventions in other health contexts, such as exercise adherence and weight loss maintenance (Sniehotta et al., 2005; Asbjornsen et al., 2022; Asbjornsen et al., 2020), informs the proposed approach.

The Smoke Sense citizen science project utilizes a smartphone application to collect data on wildfire smoke exposure, health symptoms, and protective actions taken by participants. The app provides real-time air quality information, educational resources, and a platform for users to share their experiences. The authors draw upon data from over 60,000 previous participants to identify factors contributing to the intention-action gap. They propose a framework for leveraging social and behavioral science principles to bridge this gap. The core of their approach focuses on four key domains: 1. **Social Norms:** The app aims to establish and reinforce social norms around health protective behaviors by providing aggregated data on actions taken by other users in the same geographic area. This includes displaying descriptive norms (what others are doing) and injunctive norms (what is considered appropriate behavior). Dynamic norms, which show the increasing adoption of certain behaviors, are also highlighted. 2. **Positive Reinforcement:** The app incorporates features that reward users for engaging with the app and taking protective actions. These rewards include points, badges, acknowledgements, and opportunities for community contributions. 3. **Reducing Friction:** The app simplifies the process of reporting observations and taking actions by providing easy access to information, user-friendly interface, and features that streamline the process of sharing information. It bundles information on weather conditions with air quality updates to encourage habit formation. 4. **Enhancing Self-Efficacy:** The app enables users to track their own progress and compare their behavior to that of others, fostering a sense of self-efficacy and increasing confidence in their ability to protect their health. The "My Data" feature allows for reviewing past responses and behaviors. A small-scale user feedback study was conducted using interactive wireframes to gather insights from potential users on the proposed features and their design. The feedback informed design considerations. The study included both moderated and unmoderated sessions with a diverse group of participants, including those with asthma and individuals directly affected by wildfires.

The paper's key findings are primarily conceptual, outlining a framework for leveraging social and behavioral science principles to improve health protective responses to wildfire smoke. The preliminary user feedback indicated that participants were motivated by the real-world application of their data and the ability to see how their actions contribute to a collective effort. Participants valued clear and concise information, particularly during periods of poor air quality. They also demonstrated preference for user-friendly features and preferred a simpler representation of air quality data, focusing primarily on PM2.5 levels. There is also an emphasis on the importance of understanding the timing of responses; some participants were more interested in current conditions while others were focused on forecasts. The paper emphasizes that providing information alone is insufficient to drive long-term behavior change and that the proposed framework integrates elements of social norms, positive reinforcement, reducing friction, and building self-efficacy to boost action and improve health outcomes.

The proposed framework directly addresses the research question of how to improve health protective responses to wildfire smoke by integrating citizen science with behavioral science principles. The significance of the results lies in the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of health risk communication efforts related to wildfire smoke. The integration of social norms, positive reinforcement, friction reduction, and self-efficacy enhancement can empower individuals to take timely and effective protective actions. The findings are relevant to the field of public health, environmental health, and risk communication. The proposed approach is scalable and can be applied to other environmental health hazards and disaster preparedness.

This paper presents a novel framework for enhancing health protective responses to wildfire smoke by combining citizen science with behavioral science principles. The Smoke Sense app, through its features and design, aims to increase user engagement, motivate protective actions, and build a resilient digital community. Future research should focus on the large-scale implementation and evaluation of the proposed approach. The data obtained from this will allow for further refinement of the app features and communication strategies. This research can also inform the development of similar interventions for other environmental health hazards.

The small-scale nature of the user feedback study limits the generalizability of the findings. Future research should involve larger-scale evaluations to assess the long-term effectiveness of the proposed approach. The study also focused on user feedback on proposed features, rather than a direct test of the app's impact on behavior change. A larger-scale study would ideally measure changes in health-protective behaviors. The findings are primarily conceptual in nature, and their effectiveness needs to be validated through rigorous empirical testing.