Using Digital Scholarship and Citizen Science to Reduce Lead Poisoning Risk in Indiana

Lead exposure remains a prevalent public health issue in many communities. In some cases, the exposure risk comes from contaminated water, but in others it is from the legacy of lead-based paint or contaminated soils. Here, we report on recent work using digital scholarship techniques along side a citizen science model to increase awareness and reduce environmental hazards in the affected city of South Bend, Indiana. Over the past two years, we have worked closely with local community organizations, civic entities and concerned individuals to develop a home test kit that puts the tools to determine risk in the hands of residents. We have also used digital scholarship techniques (mobile data collection apps, interactive dashboards and story maps) to involve the community and start advocating for change surrounding this issue