About

Clare Cannon, PhD is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work focuses on the intersections of social and environmental inequality. Using multiple kinds of methods, her research has investigated the use of intimate partner violence in sex and gender minority communities and applied feminist theories and methods to environmental inequalities. Her research interests include health disparities, climate change and disasters, and environmental justice, and has been published in peer-reviewed journals and books. She is an Assistant Professor of Human Ecology at the University of California, Davis.

Project Description

Community-engaged research into environmental health disparities in California's San Joaquin Valley

This research uses a community-based participatory action research framework to investigate linkages among social inequality, health disparities, and environmental exposure in an agricultural community, Kettleman City, in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Using an innovative participatory process and mixed-method experimental design, the purpose of this study is to ascertain routes of environmental exposure, establish a baseline of community member perceptions on environmental hazards, and, to produce a model for community-engaged science that informs environmental policy and regulation. A community environmental health census was conducted door to door in the Fall of 2018 and air and water sampling was collected in Summer 2019. Results indicate that residents perceive multiple environmental stressors, including a class I hazardous waste landfill and experience greater amounts of black and organic carbon compared to other communities in the San Joaquin Valley. Conclusions and implications are further discussed.