UQAM

Urban pollen: study of effects on seasonal allergies

Seasonal allergies affect a large number of people, and they are only expected to increase with climate change. Though solutions exist, the lack of reliable data prevents us from implementing them.

Do you have pollen allergies and do you live on the island of Montreal? We are currently looking for participants like you who are 18 years and older for a survey to be conducted this spring and summer! Strikingly, little is known about pollen monitoring and how pollen levels may vary within cities but you can help change that. By participating in this study, you will help us better understand the effects of allergenic pollen on population health and improve our ability to model and forecast it.

How to participate? Click the button below to signify your interest in participating in the study, you will find more details. Your task will be to regularly answer a short multiple-choice questionnaire online about your allergies and symptoms. We will send you the link by email. Easy breezy, we promise.

What do you get in return? We will share the results of our study with you, and will award a prize of 200$ in a random drawing from all eligible participants (those who completed all questionnaires).

Note:

  • If you choose to participate, you can unsubscribe at any time if you change your mind.
  • You can commit for renewable 30 day periods between mid-March and early October.
  • You can choose the level of commitment that’s right for you (minimum twice a week) and completing a survey will only take a few minutes (less than 10 minutes, we promise).

Now’s your chance to help take charge of your allergies! We hope you will consider joining our research team.

I'm interested !

Exposure to allergenic pollen is a risk factor for developing respiratory allergies, and therefore a great cause of concern to public health. Pollen comes from trees, grasses, and weeds, and their concentrations vary both spatially and temporally. Pollen monitoring is an important tool in research and health care but little is known about how pollen levels vary within cities and whether such variation affects the development or exacerbation of allergic diseases.

This project is part of a larger sampling, identification and modeling study of urban pollens - More details 

In this part of the study, our research focuses on the effect of pollens on seasonal allergies, in order to better predict them in the future, and thus help allergic people to better manage their exposure to the pollens they are allergic to.

This project is supported by the gouvernement du Québec and the Plan pour une économie verte 2030, as well as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.