By Joshua Landvatter, PhD
This multi-part blog series looks at the connection between nature and human health. The series features interdisciplinary research supported through a pilot grant program from Nature and Human Health-Utah. This first installment examines how better air quality information can help more people experience the health benefits of spending time outdoors.
As an avid trail runner, I've spent years exploring Utah's world-class outdoors. Like many of us in the Salt Lake Valley, I've come to rely on the visibility of the surrounding mountains as an informal gauge of air quality. But a clear view doesn't always mean clean air. The American Lung Association's 2026 report confirms the Salt Lake City, Provo, and Orem metro remained among the nation's most polluted areas, ranking 13th worst for ozone and 22nd worst for short-term particle pollution.
How Air Quality Shapes Access to Utah's Outdoors
When deciding to go for a walk, run, or let your kids play outside, a simple choice can become a complicated calculation. Local inversion research and newer Wasatch Front PM2.5 findings underscore that concern. Researchers discovered air pollution is not distributed evenly across the valley. A study of 36 Salt Lake City schools found higher modeled outdoor fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) on the west side, while ozone was modestly higher on the east side.
This got me thinking about the ways environmental data could become something more useful than a warning. How could we translate numbers on a screen into clear, accessible information that lets people enjoy the outdoors they love without guessing at the risk?
With grant funding from Nature and Human Health-Utah, I'm collaborating with Jessica DiCarlo, PhD, and Scott D. Odell, PhD, on a pilot study to address this question. We're partnering with the Oquirrh Foundation, whose work focuses on west-side communities and public access to the Oquirrh Mountains. Our goal is to build a scalable, community-informed model for improving access to health-promoting outdoor spaces through better use of air quality information.
Turning Air Quality Data into a Tool for Outdoor Planning
The Exposure IQ app is the digital component that turns our research into something people can use. It brings together current air-quality, weather, wind, and location data so users can compare estimated conditions across times and places. The app's environmental planning score aggregates ozone, particulate matter, smoke, and other measurements. A user might compare estimated conditions for a 5 pm hike with an 11 am walk near the office.
Our pilot study evaluates Exposure IQ as a planning and research tool. The app and companion toolkit include:
- Searchable Mapping: A database of public spaces can help users discover public spaces when popular areas are affected by pollution.
- Active Planning: Wildfire and wind information can help users identify more favorable conditions for outdoor activity.
- Accessibility: A Spanish-language version and hard-copy toolkit make these resources available to people who may not have reliable internet or phone access.
This study extends beyond the app. Participants will learn how to access outdoor spaces convenient to home or work and be invited to public workshops designed to expand traditional views of how we spend time in nature.
The Oquirrh Foundation will recruit west-side residents, co-design the toolkit, and help lead workshops and guided activities in nearby parks, green spaces, and Oquirrh foothill trails. The Oquirrhs rise beside many west-side neighborhoods, yet public land, trailheads, and permitted routes can be difficult to identify. The study pairs air-quality information with education about permitted Oquirrh access points.
Connecting Air Quality, Outdoor Access, and Health
At its heart, this research asks whether giving people more useful environmental information can help them make outdoor activity a healthier, more accessible part of daily life.
The study will assess whether the program is practical and easy to use. We'll also examine preliminary changes in participants' self-reported sleep quality, stress, mood, and time in nature, along with resting blood pressure. Workshops ranging from guided hikes to forest bathing extend the program beyond the app by building community and supporting long-term lifestyle change.
We also want to understand whether comparing air quality, smoke, and weather conditions reduces some of the uncertainty people face when deciding when and where to spend time outside. In practical terms, we want to help people incorporate environmental health information into everyday decisions without requiring them to become experts in interpreting complex data.
If the pilot proves feasible, future studies can examine these relationships more rigorously, using monitored sleep and activity data alongside specific biomarkers.
Our communities deserve environmental information they can actually use. Enjoying Utah's outdoors should not depend on having the time, transportation, or specialized knowledge to make sense of changing environmental conditions. By making this information easier to understand and act on, we hope more people can experience the health benefits of time outdoors and breathe a little easier.
Joshua Landvatter, PhD
Joshua Landvatter is a postdoctoral fellow in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Laboratory at the University of Utah. His research examines how sleep, relationships, health behaviors, and environmental conditions relate to cardiovascular and cardiometabolic health. He is supported by a National Institutes of Health T32 research training program in computational approaches to diabetes and metabolism research. He co-leads a Nature and Human Health-Utah pilot study exploring how air-quality information and access to nearby outdoor spaces may help west-side Salt Lake Valley residents make more informed decisions about time outdoors. Landvatter spent 15 years working in direct patient care, enabling him to approach health behavior from both clinical and behavioral science perspectives. He received a master's and a doctorate in social and health psychology from the University of Utah, where he examined psychophysiological mechanisms underlying interpersonal relationships and their connections to cardiovascular, autonomic, immune, and inflammatory health.
