Natalie Sampson
Biographic Data
| ID | 134276 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Natalie Sampson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Natalie |
| FAMILY NAME | Sampson |
| SIGNATURE | SAMPSON N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Michigan–Dearborn |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7946-2168 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 48 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Every sector is a health sector
Trust in public institutions is low, while the systems that shape health and wellbeing are often difficult to understand, navigate, and influence. This commentary argues that organizational health literacy (OHL) offers a practical and equity-oriented framework for redesigning those systems, not only in healthcare but across sectors such as education, housing, environmental planning, social services, and across local government. OHL shifts attenti…
Reimagining Schoolyards for Outdoor Learning and Public Health in Dearborn, Michigan
Outdoor nature-based learning environments offer many benefits, especially when accessibility, environmental health, and justice are prioritized. The Dearborn Green Schoolyards Initiative began in 2020 at Salina Elementary and Intermediate Schools and is now a district-wide effort in Michigan’s third-largest school district. In Fall 2023 and 2024, this initiative partnered with a university environmental health course to pilot a district-wide ass…
Procedural Justice in Environmental Decision-Making
Effective and just environmental governance requires collaborative and empowered decision making. Language in most state policies using CI frameworks falls short of collaborative or empowered public participation. Those with collaborative and empowered approaches to public participation offer important models for expanding public influence in environmental decision-making
Legendary Women of Environmental Justice in Metro Detroit
The sidewalks were lined with images of women of color who came before us—many still at work today. We met on July 8, 2023, at the Kemeny Recreation Center in Southwest Detroit, the heart of a community affected by environmental (in)justices for decades. Greeted by youth and elder community leaders, we were welcomed with grace and a buzz of optimism and brilliance. When everyone was glad the person next to them came, we knew we were in the right …
Lessons from the Environmental Health Research-to-Action Academy
The Problem: Southeast Dearborn, Michigan, is home to a predominantly Arab American community facing environmental health inequities due to multiple pollution sources and discriminatory zoning decisions—environmental injustices that have also impacted nearby communities in Metro Detroit for decades. More work is needed to integrate science and advocacy efforts to address these longstanding environmental injustices, and we see opportunities to do …
Environmental Justice
In October 1991, the First People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit took place in Washington D.C. and attracted >1000 participants from all 50 states. The event centered the leadership and voices of communities of color. It concluded with the adoption of the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice (EJ), which remains a guiding document for many in the movement today. These proceedings document a virtual event that occurred exactly 30 years …
Lessons from a plain language analysis
Plain Language as a Prerequisite for Environmental Justice
Background: Infrastructure, land use, zoning, and permitting decisions have long perpetuated patterns of environmental racism in the United States. These decisions and their underlying public participation processes often place undue demands on overburdened and historically excluded or disinvested communities who must repeatedly mobilize and engage to protect their well-being. Materials and Methods: In 2020, the Environmental Health Research-to-A…
West Oakland’s Experience in Building Community Power to Confront Environmental Injustice Through California’s Assembly Bill 617
We explored how air quality management processes associated with Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617) in West Oakland, California, represent a shift in power relationships between government agencies and communities toward the goal of addressing legacies of environmental injustice. We drew from a statewide assessment of community engagement in AB 617’s first year, and an analysis of the West Oakland AB 617 process. The first comprised 2 statewide surveys (…
The Healthy Dearborn coalition
Healthy Dearborn (HD), in Dearborn, Michigan, has a mission to ensure everyone has access to healthy foods, health care and opportunities for active living. HD, a partnership between a health care system, city government, schools and 550+ community members, is guided by a steering committee and research team. We describe the role of the research team in shaping HD’s work and city policy. The University of Michigan–Dearborn, with other universitie…
Care and safety in neighborhood preferences for vacant lot greenspace in legacy cities
We conducted a post-construction survey of neighborhood preferences for street scale urban greenspace designed as green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) on vacant residential lots in Detroit, a city where greenspace has potential to address structural inequities that characterize legacy cities and affect well-being. We investigated residents’ preferences related to their perceptions of microscale elements: immediately perceptible fine grain landsc…
Recurrent Home Flooding in Detroit, MI 2012–2020
Household flooding has wide ranging social, economic and public health impacts particularly for people in resource poor communities. The determinants and public health outcomes of recurrent home flooding in urban contexts, however, are not well understood. A household survey was used to assess neighborhood and household level determinants of recurrent home flooding in Detroit, MI. Survey activities were conducted from 2012 to 2020. Researchers co…
Building Youth Capacity to Address Environmental Health and Justice Concerns in Dearborn, Michigan
In Southeast Dearborn, Michigan, threats to environmental health are constant, and intergenerational community mobilization remains necessary to reduce their adverse effects. Grounded in the principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and using high-impact active learning strategies, the EHRA Academy may provide one effective model for centering youth to build community capacity towards environmental justice (EJ)
Problem-solving challenges
As of June 2018, over 640 college campuses were registered with the College and University Food Bank Alliance, an organization that supports campuses currently operating or interested in opening a pantry. However, a dearth of research exists that examine how campus pantries function: what unique challenges do campus pantries face and how do pantry staff creatively address these challenges? In October 2016, researchers collected qualitative data d…
Mobilizing for Community Benefits to Assess Health and Promote Environmental Justice near the Gordie Howe International Bridge
Transportation infrastructure decisions contribute to social, economic, and health inequities in the U.S. Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) may improve understanding of potential strategies to mitigate adverse effects on quality of life from planned developments. We use the Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB), currently under construction in southwest Detroit, MI, as a case study to examine 15 years of community mobilization, which resulted in…
Independent and joint contributions of economic, social and physical environmental characteristics to mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area
Feminist action research in response to food insecurity among college students
Feminist action research can instigate community, organizational, and policy changes to address social issues. We describe how we considered inclusion, participation, action, social change, and researcher reflexivity, as well as researcher positionality, in design and implementation of the 2016 Michigan College Campuses Food Pantry Summit. Specifically, in this case study, we describe ways we used these principles to plan this event around concep…
MI-Environment
Creating a community of practice among college campus food pantry directors in Michigan
There is increased awareness of hunger and food insecurity on college campuses. Recent estimates suggest that food insecurity affects as many as 4 out of 10 college students. As a result, over 650 US colleges have established campus food pantries. The College and University Pantries (CUP) research team at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has worked to create a community of practice in Michigan among campus pantry directors by hosting 2 summits…
Independent and Joint Contributions of Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Population Vulnerability to Mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area
Fine particulate matter is associated with adverse health outcomes. Exposure to fine particulate matter may disproportionately affect urban communities with larger numbers of vulnerable residents. We used multilevel logistic regression models to estimate the joint effects of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and population vulnerabilities on cardiopulmonary mortality (CPM). We estimated the health benefits of reductions in PM 2.5 across census tr…
We’re Just Sitting Ducks”
Recurrent inland urban flooding is an understudied phenomenon that warrants greater attention, particularly in post-industrial cities where aging infrastructure, disinvestment, and climate change threaten public health. We conducted semi-structured interviews in 2017−2018 with 18 Detroit residents experiencing recurrent household flooding. We used standard qualitative coding analysis to generate 30 theoretically- and in vivo- derived themes relat…
Landscape care of urban vacant properties and implications for health and safety
Multidirectional Translation of Environmental Health Science in Community Settings
Through this example, we highlight how collaborative partnerships can enhance multidirectional dialogue to inform translation of environmental health science by promoting consideration of multilevel risk factors, local priorities and context, and diverse audiences
Race and the Distribution of Social and Physical Environmental Risk
Since W. E. B. Du Bois documented the physical and social environments of Philadelphia's predominantly African American Seventh Ward over a century ago, there has been continued interest in understanding the distribution of social and physical environments by racial make-up of communities. Characterization of these environments allows for documentation of inequities, identifies communities which encounter heightened risk, and can inform action to…
Effects of Particulate Matter and Antioxidant Dietary Intake on Blood Pressure
Objectives. We assessed 2 pathways through which dietary antioxidants may counter adverse effects of exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM 2.5 ) on blood pressure (BP): main (compensatory) and modifying (protective) models. Methods. We used 2002 to 2003 data from the Detroit Healthy Environments Partnership community survey conducted with a multiethnic sample of adults (n = 347) in low- to moderate-income, predo…
Race and the Distribution of Social and Physical Environmental Risk
Since W. E. B. Du Bois documented the physical and social environments of Philadelphia's predominantly African American Seventh Ward over a century ago, there has been continued interest in understanding the distribution of social and physical environments by racial make-up of communities. Characterization of these environments allows for documentation of inequities, identifies communities which encounter heightened risk, and can inform action to…
Staying cool in a changing climate
Landscape care of urban vacant properties and implications for health and safety
Independent and joint contributions of economic, social and physical environmental characteristics to mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area
MI-Environment
Creating a community of practice among college campus food pantry directors in Michigan
There is increased awareness of hunger and food insecurity on college campuses. Recent estimates suggest that food insecurity affects as many as 4 out of 10 college students. As a result, over 650 US colleges have established campus food pantries. The College and University Pantries (CUP) research team at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has worked to create a community of practice in Michigan among campus pantry directors by hosting 2 summits…
Multidirectional Translation of Environmental Health Science in Community Settings
Through this example, we highlight how collaborative partnerships can enhance multidirectional dialogue to inform translation of environmental health science by promoting consideration of multilevel risk factors, local priorities and context, and diverse audiences
Effects of Particulate Matter and Antioxidant Dietary Intake on Blood Pressure
Objectives. We assessed 2 pathways through which dietary antioxidants may counter adverse effects of exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM 2.5 ) on blood pressure (BP): main (compensatory) and modifying (protective) models. Methods. We used 2002 to 2003 data from the Detroit Healthy Environments Partnership community survey conducted with a multiethnic sample of adults (n = 347) in low- to moderate-income, predo…
A Life Course Perspective on Stress and Health Among Caregivers of Children With Asthma in Detroit
Low-income caregivers raising children with asthma experience many obstacles to their own health, including stress. To understand and describe their daily experiences, researchers conducted 40 qualitative interviews supplemented with descriptive quantitative surveys in Detroit, Michigan, as part of a community-based participatory research partnership of Community Action Against Asthma. Prevalence of chronic illness is noticeably higher among part…
Staying cool in a changing climate
Improving Public Participation to Achieve Environmental Justice
Public participation, sometimes referred to as public involvement or engagement, is often a mandated process in agency-led environmental and land use planning with major implications for environmental justice. Theoretically and in practice, quantity and quality of these public participation activities remain variable in the United States. This article reports on residents' experiences in two distinct frontline communities, those living near the p…
Strategies to Reduce the Harmful Effects of Extreme Heat Events
Extreme heat events (EHEs) are becoming more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century. These events can disproportionately impact the health of low-income, minority, and urban populations. To better understand heat-related intervention strategies used by four U.S. cities, we conducted 73 semi-structured interviews with government and non-governmental organization leaders representing public health, general social services, em…
Effects of Particulate Matter and Antioxidant Dietary Intake on Blood Pressure
Objectives. We assessed 2 pathways through which dietary antioxidants may counter adverse effects of exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM 2.5 ) on blood pressure (BP): main (compensatory) and modifying (protective) models. Methods. We used 2002 to 2003 data from the Detroit Healthy Environments Partnership community survey conducted with a multiethnic sample of adults (n = 347) in low- to moderate-income, predo…
Multidirectional Translation of Environmental Health Science in Community Settings
Through this example, we highlight how collaborative partnerships can enhance multidirectional dialogue to inform translation of environmental health science by promoting consideration of multilevel risk factors, local priorities and context, and diverse audiences
Race and the Distribution of Social and Physical Environmental Risk
Since W. E. B. Du Bois documented the physical and social environments of Philadelphia's predominantly African American Seventh Ward over a century ago, there has been continued interest in understanding the distribution of social and physical environments by racial make-up of communities. Characterization of these environments allows for documentation of inequities, identifies communities which encounter heightened risk, and can inform action to…
Landscape care of urban vacant properties and implications for health and safety
Independent and Joint Contributions of Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Population Vulnerability to Mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area
Fine particulate matter is associated with adverse health outcomes. Exposure to fine particulate matter may disproportionately affect urban communities with larger numbers of vulnerable residents. We used multilevel logistic regression models to estimate the joint effects of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and population vulnerabilities on cardiopulmonary mortality (CPM). We estimated the health benefits of reductions in PM 2.5 across census tr…
We’re Just Sitting Ducks”
Recurrent inland urban flooding is an understudied phenomenon that warrants greater attention, particularly in post-industrial cities where aging infrastructure, disinvestment, and climate change threaten public health. We conducted semi-structured interviews in 2017−2018 with 18 Detroit residents experiencing recurrent household flooding. We used standard qualitative coding analysis to generate 30 theoretically- and in vivo- derived themes relat…
MI-Environment
Creating a community of practice among college campus food pantry directors in Michigan
There is increased awareness of hunger and food insecurity on college campuses. Recent estimates suggest that food insecurity affects as many as 4 out of 10 college students. As a result, over 650 US colleges have established campus food pantries. The College and University Pantries (CUP) research team at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has worked to create a community of practice in Michigan among campus pantry directors by hosting 2 summits…
Problem-solving challenges
As of June 2018, over 640 college campuses were registered with the College and University Food Bank Alliance, an organization that supports campuses currently operating or interested in opening a pantry. However, a dearth of research exists that examine how campus pantries function: what unique challenges do campus pantries face and how do pantry staff creatively address these challenges? In October 2016, researchers collected qualitative data d…
Mobilizing for Community Benefits to Assess Health and Promote Environmental Justice near the Gordie Howe International Bridge
Transportation infrastructure decisions contribute to social, economic, and health inequities in the U.S. Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) may improve understanding of potential strategies to mitigate adverse effects on quality of life from planned developments. We use the Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB), currently under construction in southwest Detroit, MI, as a case study to examine 15 years of community mobilization, which resulted in…
Independent and joint contributions of economic, social and physical environmental characteristics to mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area
Feminist action research in response to food insecurity among college students
Feminist action research can instigate community, organizational, and policy changes to address social issues. We describe how we considered inclusion, participation, action, social change, and researcher reflexivity, as well as researcher positionality, in design and implementation of the 2016 Michigan College Campuses Food Pantry Summit. Specifically, in this case study, we describe ways we used these principles to plan this event around concep…
The Healthy Dearborn coalition
Healthy Dearborn (HD), in Dearborn, Michigan, has a mission to ensure everyone has access to healthy foods, health care and opportunities for active living. HD, a partnership between a health care system, city government, schools and 550+ community members, is guided by a steering committee and research team. We describe the role of the research team in shaping HD’s work and city policy. The University of Michigan–Dearborn, with other universitie…
Care and safety in neighborhood preferences for vacant lot greenspace in legacy cities
We conducted a post-construction survey of neighborhood preferences for street scale urban greenspace designed as green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) on vacant residential lots in Detroit, a city where greenspace has potential to address structural inequities that characterize legacy cities and affect well-being. We investigated residents’ preferences related to their perceptions of microscale elements: immediately perceptible fine grain landsc…
Recurrent Home Flooding in Detroit, MI 2012–2020
Household flooding has wide ranging social, economic and public health impacts particularly for people in resource poor communities. The determinants and public health outcomes of recurrent home flooding in urban contexts, however, are not well understood. A household survey was used to assess neighborhood and household level determinants of recurrent home flooding in Detroit, MI. Survey activities were conducted from 2012 to 2020. Researchers co…
Building Youth Capacity to Address Environmental Health and Justice Concerns in Dearborn, Michigan
In Southeast Dearborn, Michigan, threats to environmental health are constant, and intergenerational community mobilization remains necessary to reduce their adverse effects. Grounded in the principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and using high-impact active learning strategies, the EHRA Academy may provide one effective model for centering youth to build community capacity towards environmental justice (EJ)
Plain Language as a Prerequisite for Environmental Justice
Background: Infrastructure, land use, zoning, and permitting decisions have long perpetuated patterns of environmental racism in the United States. These decisions and their underlying public participation processes often place undue demands on overburdened and historically excluded or disinvested communities who must repeatedly mobilize and engage to protect their well-being. Materials and Methods: In 2020, the Environmental Health Research-to-A…
West Oakland’s Experience in Building Community Power to Confront Environmental Injustice Through California’s Assembly Bill 617
We explored how air quality management processes associated with Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617) in West Oakland, California, represent a shift in power relationships between government agencies and communities toward the goal of addressing legacies of environmental injustice. We drew from a statewide assessment of community engagement in AB 617’s first year, and an analysis of the West Oakland AB 617 process. The first comprised 2 statewide surveys (…
Environmental Justice
In October 1991, the First People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit took place in Washington D.C. and attracted >1000 participants from all 50 states. The event centered the leadership and voices of communities of color. It concluded with the adoption of the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice (EJ), which remains a guiding document for many in the movement today. These proceedings document a virtual event that occurred exactly 30 years …
Lessons from a plain language analysis
Lessons from the Environmental Health Research-to-Action Academy
The Problem: Southeast Dearborn, Michigan, is home to a predominantly Arab American community facing environmental health inequities due to multiple pollution sources and discriminatory zoning decisions—environmental injustices that have also impacted nearby communities in Metro Detroit for decades. More work is needed to integrate science and advocacy efforts to address these longstanding environmental injustices, and we see opportunities to do …
Medicine (19 works) · Political science (19 works) · Sociology (17 works) · Geography (16 works) · Environmental health (12 works) · Public relations (12 works) · Environmental justice (11 works) · Public health (11 works) · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities (9 works) · Psychology (9 works)