Research project guides for CSUB student researchers
S: Okay. So you said, you’re RN.
S: Okay, I just curious, how did you get the information about this research?
S: Hmm, okay, thank you very much.
S: So since you are nurse and health worker, I think this topic is quite important for you, as well, those who caught belly fever. So I just wanted to introduce my experience about air quality in Bakersfield, and that triggered me to conduct this research. So I am a professor at CSUB since 2022. But at the time in August 2022, I had 3rd baby. She was like 3 months when we moved to Bakersfield. And I talked about air quality issue with my daughter at my home. But I felt like my colleague did not fully understand my situation. And some were understanding the situation of my family. Members are experiencing because of the bad air quality here. And Csu Kern County. But I think half of those people were not bothered with the air quality at all. I feel like they did not understand. Like.
S: Yeah, yeah, yeah, because I thought, you know, I’m from South Korea. the air code is not good, because bad air comes from China, the factory, but. I thought before I came to Bakersfield I thought, America. We have a good, immunity with the air, quality. Yeah. But when I land in Bakersfield it was not.
S: So that’s why I just wanted to have some kind of, wanted to make our people aware of. We have an issue. And we need to change this environment in a good way.
S: So that’s why.
S: Yeah, that’s why I started this research. And I receive a $10,000. Grant to conduct this research. So that’s why we could provide $40. Amazon gift card for every interviewees.So if you have, yeah, any colleagues or friends who are willing to participate in this research, please feel free to, you know, share this opportunities.
S: Okay, thank you very much. So we’ll basically talk about your experience about air quality and your experience about the feeling, when you talk about the air quality issue and also health issue around you. So first, let’s talk about oh, before we start this interview will be a recording, because we will transcribe through the zoom. So it auto transcribe all of our saying. And after I review it I will delete the recording and also in the transcription, I will delete all the personal identification information.
S: Okay? And also in the research. All the name will be used with a fake name. So we will protect your personal identification.
S: Yeah, can you tell me about your current role in your job?
I’ve been handling a lot of patients in our unit. So my unit is a cardiac unit. So mostly my, the cases there is with the problems with the heart. But people, my patients came in not just with a problem, with the heart. They also have problem with their lungs. Yeah. So I have patients who has valley fever. There’s a lot. Well, I’ll okay. I’ll start with it. I have a lot of stories. So when I was in Ohio, so personally, I have a allergic grinitis. So when I was in the Philippines, I have like occasional flare ups with my allergic rhinitis, so I can tell if the the quality is not good, because my nose is so sensitive. So of course I accepted that because Philippines is not really that, you know, like very nature. I mean, the air quality. Is not that really good? There’s a lot of pollution. And then, when I moved to Ohio, do you know the the I don’t know if you know the place it’s called Marietta, Marietta, Ohio. It’s like a city for veterans. It’s like a retirement place for veterans. So oh, my God! When I moved there it’s so green, the air quality is so good I haven’t had any flare up even once, when I was there. So if you will search it, you can see just greens like you can walk around. It’s super safe place like my my cousin. She forgot her phone and her car keys outside the porch, and then, when he, when she came back morning after it’s still there like it’s a very safe place, and what else like? I always walk in the morning with my friends. We go jog, because, you know, like the place is very inviting to walk around and just chill outside. We have a river also. And yeah. And then when I moved here in Bakersfield like I moved here August last year, 2023, because I got an offer in Adventist health, Bakersfield in Chester. So that’s when I started having flare ups with my allergic rhinitis. So I realized even though I’m living here in Southwest, there is a lot of trees. But excuse me, but still I, still having flare ups like I just realized that. Oh, my God, I’m having like I’m sneezing every morning. And then so I bought a 2 air purifier at home with Hepa Filter. I don’t have that before. So now I was forced to buy that because I’m having bad allergies like it’s really really bad like I don’t know. And do you know that the valley fever? If you have that it won’t. It won’t go away. It you will still see it on the X-ray. Even though you had it in the past, you can still see it, because all my patients they have that in the past. But when the doctors like order a X-ray on them, you can still see it. But it’s not active like it can leave a scar on your lungs. Yeah, it’s yeah.
S: With us forever.
S: No, so You said you worked at cardiac department. How did you 1st aware about the Valley fever, you know? To be honest, when I had a 1st job talk at Bakersfield. This is used to be before I start my work. Nobody told me about Valley fever, they said, here, it’s a countryside. We have lots of beautiful natural plays you can. They never talk about the past.
So I research. And then I read some of the doctor’s notes also. So that’s why I learned about it. So oh, my God, you can just. You can just get the valley fever from Central Valley. So so I decided that I’m moving north next year.
S: You mean North, you mean around Sacramento.
Because I went, I went there. Oh, my God! In Stanford I went with my partner. It’s very nice. The air quality is good. You can smell, you can smell, you know the the smell of the leaves.
S: Difference.
S: So I live in Stephenson Ranch. You know, North part of the LA. It’s hour and 15 min drive. I know you’re a nurse, and you need to do shift. But with Tesla I think hour and 15 min. Is not that bad?
S: Doings, for self-driving.
S: So I work 3 days a week. So I think that’s that’s good.
S: And also Professor has a summer break and winter break. So that’s also gives me some flexibility.
S: But I wish our community and also people in Bakerfield. They could live in the better place. They don’t have much political power. They have a vote right, but I don’t think they could influence their needs to the politicians.
S: Okay, I think you are the perfect sample that we are talking about, because we will talk about how air quality in Kern County impact people. To stay here at Kern County or change their behavior around air, quality, or maybe their decision to move out to other counties. So you’re basically currently considering moving out to other community. Right?
S: Yeah, for that. You know, in elementary school. My kid was at the time in 2022. My 1st one was 3rd grade. And there were like 6 recesses, for each recess. It’s 30 min. And even though there’s a heavy wind with lots of dust outside of the classroom. Teachers, let them play outside. And I asked my kid, where’s your teacher at the time? And he said, She’s always in the classroom. But here in Stevens ranch there is only 2 recess. And for other time for the recess that school in Bakersfield, having. They are having music class or you know, physical activity, class or sociology class. So the quality of the education is totally different. So that’s 1 of the reasons I moved to this place. Yeah, maybe you can search because you are in the same page like me.
And also Santa Clarita, oh, yeah, I know Santa clarita.
S: Also many Filipinos here. So my kids, my daughter’s 2 friends, are from Philippine. One of the best friend, because there’s lots of Asians here.
S: Okay? And later. You can always reach out to me. Using Linkedin or Email. I would like to help you.
S: All right. So can you walk me through a typical day for you, including your work hours, and also after work hours.
So I would get an endorsement from my patients. I only handle 4 patients in a cardiac unit because it’s high equity. meaning like we have a, you know, heavy patience. And then next would be. I would review all their charts. What they came here for. What’s the plan? And then I’m gonna give medications. So basically just giving medications communicating with the doctors, the physical therapist occupational therapists case managers updating the family. I’ll just sometimes I don’t get lunch or I’ll get a quick lunch like 15 to 20 min. Usually I’ll get that around 2 to 3 pm. So it’s kind of late, you you won’t really get a exact time for lunch when you’re working in a hospital because you need to be done with everything before you eat something like that, because the patient is really the priority. And what else? Yeah. So when I’m done like, at 7 o’clock, I’ll arrive here in my house. I would leave the hospital at 7, 30, and then I’ll arrive here like 8. and then I would eat dinner. and then, if I still have energy, I would go for a quick jog at Riverwalk. Because I like to, you know, sometimes sweat because I feel like I’m not sweating anymore. Yeah, because here in my house it’s centralized. The A/C is always on. Yeah. And then what else? Sometimes I don’t feel like, you know, when I I’m jogging in riverwalk, you know. River Walk. It’s like a park.
S: On target.
Yeah. So it’s really, it’s really polluted here. No questions. It’s really polluted.
S: So were there any day, you hesitant to walk outside because you had checked the weather app. And whether or not we can check the air quality.
So that’s what that’s the that’s the temperature. That’s the only thing that I, but the the air quality I don’t really check at all.
S: You just feel the quality by yourself.
They have really. I’m I’m near the the ocean. And then there’s a lot of trees. So you can really feel the difference of the air quality in when you live in the the rural area, you know, like you can, you can smell like it’s pure. I don’t know.
S: I, my nose is really.
S: Have you modified any work or personal activities due to air quality concerns like some days.
S: Wind with lots of dust.
S: Sometimes we have lots of wind with lots of dust.
And and also on my porch. I I always clean my porch. And I have a table there like a wooden table, so I wipe it with with What’s this wet, wet towel. whenever like one to 3 days. It’s dusty already, like you can. If you touch the table and you can see it. You can see the dust on your. It’s so thick I don’t know. Where is it going? I’m always cleaning my my porch.
S: I think it’s come from the farmland because there are with the tractor. There’s a lots of dust.
S: For now we talked about how air quality impact yourself. But let’s talk about your observation of how air quality impacted the others around you like family friends or roommates or coworkers. Have you noticed how the air quality impact on others around you?
They just do a membership in a gym. so they just walk in the treadmill or run in the treadmill, so they would just do their workout in the gym instead of working out. And you know the running or jogging in the park, because, you know, when you I cuz. Personally. I would always choose outdoor areas to jog because it helps with my mental health. Also, like, I’m I’m burn. I’m so burned out with work like, I always see what ventilator pumps. You know, patients lying in bed. I want a different, you know, environment It’s really relaxing for me to see trees, greens everywhere, like, you know. docks, Rivers. It’s it’s relaxing for me. So that’s how I cope up with stress. I want to see like natures and everything so and so I instill what I want to do like jogging. So I jog on, you know, near around nature. So. But now it’s limiting me because of this air quality. Yeah, because I don’t want to go home like sneezing, because I you know I’m a nurse, but I don’t like taking medications, actually. So I don’t like taking antihistamine every now and then. Antihistamine is for the allergy. Yes, so, I don’t like taking that. Yeah, because it makes you groggy, also makes you sleepy. So if you’re sleepy, you’re not gonna be. you know, you’re not gonna be active. You’re not gonna be. You’re not gonna be. If you need to do something at home. If you’re gonna do homework or anything research. it’s it’s gonna be you’ll be sleepy after that. S: Okay in your workplace. How comfortable are people in your workplace with discussing air quality concerns.
Yeah, it’s like they’re really used to it. They accepted that air quality in Bakersfield is really bad. And it’s like, when you ask them. It’s like, Oh, yeah, quality is bad. Yeah, like that. They don’t care. I don’t know.
S: Those colleagues around you are mostly born and raised in Kern County.
They don’t see the Bakersfield that they’re going to retire here.
S: That’s why they don’t really care about the current situation.
This is the most cheapest city that you can live in, Baker in California, and then they bought a house already because they got the house when it was covid, times where, when it was cheaper. So I don’t know, but some of them says that they’re still planning to move. Move out of Bakersfield like somewhere north.
S: Have you ever shared your personal or family concerns or issues related to air quality with your colleagues? I mean the story that you shared with me in the beginning of the interview.
last week we had a party for her. So I I spoke with her so because I asked her, Where where is she moving? Because I’m also gaining ideas where I wanted to move. So she shared with me that her experience because her husband she had her husband, had Covid before. But the symptoms of her husband is not that bad, but when the husband got valley fever it was so bad. It’s like very traumatizing for them like she couldn’t. She couldn’t, you know, take care of himself. She had shortness of breath. She couldn’t really breathe like I think he got hospitalized. So that’s what they’re.That’s what happened that they really decided to move last last week. Because they don’t wanna they don’t want that to happen again. And then. So I shared to her that I’m planning to move also. So. And then I told her that. Yeah, because I’m scared for my child’s welfare, because, you know, I don’t want him to get hospitalized every now and then. Of course, our parents, we we just want the best for our kids, you know. And so yeah, so we we share the same sentiments. And then we agreed with each other. And then, yeah, she’s pushing me like, yeah, you, it’s not bad to move out, you know. It’s it’s for you to grow. Also. There’s a lot of better hospitals there.
S: So your colleagues 1st share their experiences with air quality around Valley Fever. And then you share your own concerns with the air quality and the challenges your your family members could experience.
S: So once you guys shared each other’s concerns, which is similar. How what kind of feeling did you experience.
So it’s not just this. They I think, they’re. It’s not just they’re not discussing it. But if you will open up, if you will ask, they would say the same thing, they would say the same problem.
S: So like, you know, since you’re the new employee. In organization, how comfortable you felt like, you know, sharing your concerns with the air quality in Bakersfield. Maybe you might feel like, you know, if you share the concerns around the living quality here, they might think that you will move or quit soon.
S: Only close coworkers. Are there any reason why you approached your close coworkers.
But managers will talk about it if you will tell them that, or, if you will, you know, give a hint that you will move.
S: So you feel like sharing concerns about the air quality issues might indicate that you will move to other organization or quit.
You know, that’s why. And we have a lot of, you know, not really important. But you know, in the in the hospital they just really care about the customer service for your patients. you know, but they don’t really talk about like the in general. The what where do you live in in Bakersfield. They just focus on what’s going on with the organization in Adventist health Bakersfield. That’s it. They don’t. Sometimes they don’t care about your environment outside, they would just discuss what’s going on inside.
S: I think that taking care of where their employees living, and which condition their employees are living is really important, because. Yeah, it’s a it’s that, you know, organization is, take caring of their employees. Health. And yeah, But you feel like you are marginalized in that sense.
Yeah, so that’s it. But in for the air quality. No.
S: Have you ever wanted to take? You know? Mask. when the air quality is bad or.
S: Wanted to take a mask, but felt hesitant to wear it because of some social pressure or concerns.
Yeah, I don’t take off my mask. And then, when, when, whenever cause, some of the patient would ask, Why are you wearing masks? Oh, so I would just. I would just lie Oh, I have a cough. So I don’t. I just don’t want you to get cough. Also. That’s why I’m wearing masks. But in but deep inside I’m I’m really wearing masks for my protection. Also.
S: Since you said you said that you don’t want to. Be contagious to others around you, including your patients. Were there any pressure that you set like that.
S: The reason why I ask about this question is, you know, in Bakersfield I found that also I observed from other interviews that some of the workers were alarmed with the air quality inside the organization as well, but they’re they do not want to raise those topic with other employees, because that will reveal the weakness of themselves to others by saying that they are sensitive to the air quality, especially for men. And also they don’t want to wear a mask, even though they wanted to, but because they feel like people are judging them with their own, you know own understanding. Participant #23: well, yeah, people would judge. But I don’t really care if they would judge. I care about my health. Because I don’t want to get a valley fever. And also like, What is this? Maybe they don’t really talk about it. because, 1st of all, when you move to Bakersfield, maybe they’re thinking that. Oh, you should you move to Bakersfield 1st of all, maybe you did a research already that the air quality here is not that good? So it’s like, an you know, maybe they’re thinking, oh, you know this already. You know this stuff already. You shouldn’t be talking about this anymore. Something like that you know what I’m saying. Yeah.
S: Before I moved to Bakersfield. I heard that from my own search the air quality is not good here, but I did not realize that the air quality.
Oh, yeah, me, too, because it’s like we were. We were born in a country that the air quality is not good. you know, but we weren’t just expecting that it was that bad, this this bad, you know.
S: And Valley fever is a whole different animal.
So I got Covid in the Philippines because I was working in the operating room. Do you see the the videos or the pictures that we wear in the operating room? It’s like, we’re like a mascot. So even with that I still get a covid, and then I was going home. So my mom is living at home. My sister is living at home. That was the time. It’s summertime. So all my niece and nephews are at home. You know what happened. I get Covid, and then they all got Covid. So we were. What do you call this? We were locked in our no, I was taken by the ambulance to have a what do you call the? You know they will lock you quarantine quarantine. They will car, I will. They will quarantine me in the hospital because I was working in the hospital, but then they lock all my family members inside the house. So what happened was, the the county was just giving food to us. Yeah, it was. It was traumatizing. Because also, my my son. They they nose swapped. My son. He was crying, and then all of them. I feel bad because my mom got admitted in the Icu because of that.
S: You might feel really bad because you had. Whole family is sick.
S: So because of that experience, you don’t care about how people see you when you take a mask.
if you feel like if you feel bad like I’m wearing this and that because all I care is that I don’t. I don’t get ill, and I don’t get share my illness to everyone that all my loved ones, you know.
S: Okay, I really respect your perspective. So you talked before a little bit about the connection. When you talk about the air quality issue with your colleague. So sometimes people feel a sense of connection with.
S: Facing common challenges. So I felt the same thing when you talk about their colleague concerns. And when you learn that the other share similar environmental concerns, how does that affect the conversation with them?
S: So when you learn that you, you and your others, your colleagues share the similar environmental issues like air quality concerns. How does that affect you? I mean, how does that affect the discussion with them?
S: But still, do you think that help? So do you think that those you know discussion help you feel more connected with others in your organization.
S: So it’s like a 2 feelings that you’re attached to your current organization. I mean current colleagues in your organization. And also you also have motivation to move out to other.
S: Okay.
S: Very interesting.
S: You know. and it’s a different question from sharing the concerns. Have you ever felt isolated, due to environmental health concerns? So sometimes you might hesitant to share with the, you know error, call an issue with certain colleagues like your manager. So if you have. if you meet with some of the folks who you can not share the air quality concerns, have you felt isolation.
S: Let me shift the question a little bit. Have you felt like you were the only one worried about air quality, while others seemed unbothered.
Because whenever I ask someone they feel the same way. they just don’t really like talk out loud about it. But if you would ask them. One by one they feel the same thing.
S: it’s good that you have a colleagues. You can share your concerns concerns freely. I think you’re you have. You are lucky to have your colleagues around you. let’s talk about the organizational efforts. What step has your organization taken to address air quality issues, for example, distributing masks, or maybe planting trees or adjusting work schedules.
And but I don’t see really like you know, air filters or anything.
S: - okay? So you said, your organization mostly care about your the work inside the organization.
S: Okay?
S: what kinds of support or initiative do you think your organization could provide to better address air quality concerns? Do you have any suggestion for the betterment of the air quality?
You know, because I think the trees would filter everything. And it would really make a great, a big change if the Bakersfield is greener.
S: Okay, this is one of the last question. Considering the current error quality issue, you said you wanted to move out to the other place. Do you think that air quality concerns is a major reason that you want to move out to other community.
And also the summer weather like it’s super hot in here.
S: Okay. So it means that if the air quality is better and improve, you might feel more optimistic here.
S: And here’s a closing questions that I would like to give you. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience with air quality and community connection in Kern County that we haven’t discussed.
I guess I pretty much said everything that I want. It’s just yeah. I just wanna say again that, you know. Like, if, because I’m an outdoor outdoor person. so you can really feel the difference with the air quality when you smell it, you can. You can. You can tell like it. It smells like smoke smells like dirt. You don’t. You don’t smell the the leaves, the smell of the leaves. Yeah. So. And also when we hike, you know Heart Park. We went to Heart Park, and then we see the the the sky. It’s there’s like a smog, you know, when you when you’re in the airplane, you can see the the air quality. It’s kind of brown. So it’s like that here in Bakersfield.
S: I could see all the time.
S: Hmm, okay.
S: So I told the the community where I live, and if you are interested, and if you visit, or if you have a house, and please let me know. I just.
S: Oh, no, no, that’s just cool.
S: A 7 surrenches. One part of the Santa Clarita.
S: So nowadays there’s a large community currently building with the new houses.
S: Magic, mountain.
S: So here we have plenty of trees.
S: Yeah, you should definitely went through this community.
S: Yeah.
S: The.
S: Good to me.
S: Expensive house, but I really enjoy the park in front of my house.
S: I walk 3 times a day.
S: Okay, this is it for the interview, and it would be great if you can, you know, share this opportunity.
S: Yeah. And also it would be great if if the others who just move out from Bakersfield could have the interview with me.
S: Okay, thank you very much, and you’re welcome.
S: Have a great night.
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