Urban natural spaces provide important ecosystem services and a wide range of health- and well-being-related benefits for their visitors. They are also essential spaces for biodiversity protection and promotion in a world of rising urbanisation rates and worsening impacts of climate change. However, these spaces are often underutilised by urban residents. When they are utilised, this usage often leads to some level of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Hence, understanding how to promote both use and biodiversity levels in urban natural spaces is critical. While various reports have studied the broad factors associated with urban natural space use, the specific relationship between biodiversity and use remains to be explored. This paper uses a Systems Thinking approach to unpack the complex relationship between urban natural space use and biodiversity and to help guide the design and management of these spaces in a way that promotes both use and biodiversity. With data collected from a systematic literature review, a causal loop diagram (CLD) was constructed and analysed. The CLD construction and analysis highlighted various key factors that play an important role in relating urban natural space use and biodiversity. Among these is the role of individual and social perceptions and values in determining how biodiversity levels will affect usage, and vice versa. The results were applied to a case study: the Thamesmead regeneration project undertaken by the social housing association Peabody. We made recommendations regarding Peabody's biodiversity and green infrastructure plans for Thamesmead, presenting new design and maintenance techniques and assessing various existing techniques mentioned in the documents. Through the CLD analysis, we uncovered various unintended consequences from common design and maintenance techniques and discuss these trade-offs and relationships.

Addressing food security is one of the national priorities in South Africa, enshrined under the country's constitution, yet there is a growing percentage of households struggling to meet their food requirements. Food insecurity and malnutrition remain severe problems in rural communities and can be addressed through home gardening. This study aimed to assess the contributions of home gardens to food security in Limpopo Province. This study employed a quantitative research methodology. A total of 2043 rural households were selected using multistage stratified random sampling. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to measure household food insecurity levels of home garden participants. Results showed that 46% of participants were food secure, 24% were severely food insecure, 17% were moderately food insecure and 13% were mildly food insecure. The results from the endogenous switching Poisson regression model showed that gender, household size, wage/salary, access to land, agriculture-related assistance and market distance had a positive influence on household food security of home garden participants. On the other hand, employment status and receiving any social relief had a negative association with household food security of home garden participants. The results also showed that employment status had a positive influence on the food security of home garden non-participants, while education, access to land, wage/salary and age had a negative influence. The results from average treatment effects (ATEs) showed that households that participated in home garden production had a negative and significant (-value < 0.05) impact on household food insecurity. This study concludes that involvement in home gardening improves food security. Household food security can be enhanced through agricultural training and skills enhancement directed at increasing participation in home gardening in rural areas, thus addressing income and food security challenges. Agricultural education needs to be introduced and facilitated at school levels so that an understanding of food systems, nutrition and food security can be attained from younger age groups.

The dynamics of an environmental decision-making context can be complicated. The use of decision support tools can help better facilitate restoring and maintaining ecosystems that provide environmental benefits (ecosystem services) to people. Although an ecosystem services assessment tool is designed for specific purposes, having access to a comprehensive suite of tools offers the user additional insight and resources to help in decision making. A range of approaches exist to connect ecosystem services to a given decision context ranging from less to more complex: using the best professional judgment; applying examples from other efforts; testing individual tool applications; and using a systematic, decision-tree approach to navigate among relevant tools and frameworks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed a decision-tree approach for a user to navigate the question of how to choose among a suite of ecosystem services assessment tools for three decision contexts: (1) ecological risk assessments; (2) cleanup of contaminated sites; (3) and generic structured decision-making processes. This tool selection navigator was developed with/for the intended user, including developing crosswalks between tool functionality and the user's language for what they require in a tool. To navigate the tool, the user first chooses one of three decision contexts. Second, the user selects among the different phases of the decision process. Third, the user selects among a few ecosystem-services related tasks relevant to the decision context chosen to identify potential tools. The tool uses simple language to navigate the decision pathways and provides the user with a suite of potential ES resources and tools for their given decision context.

In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative interview study, which highlights the difficulties and challenges with quantifying carbon emissions and discusses how to move productively through these challenges by drawing insights from studies of deep uncertainty. Our research study focuses on the digital sector and was governed by the following research question: how do practitioners researching, working, or immersed in the broad area of sustainable digitisation (researchers, industry, NGOs, and policy representatives) understand and engage with quantifying carbon? Our findings show how stakeholders struggled to measure carbon emissions across complex systems, the lack of standardisation to assist with this, and how these challenges led stakeholders to call for more data to address this uncertainty. We argue that these calls for more data obscure the fact that there will always be uncertainty, and that we must learn to govern from within it.

Impoverished and under-served communities are often exposed to the worst environmental and climate hazards. Identifying these communities and building their resilience capacity to withstand such hazards is a vital justice aspect of environmental management. Building community resilience requires five activities: (1) examination of existing information, (2) community engagement and assessment of local knowledge, (3) development of reasonable strategies to build resilience, (4) implementation and these strategies, and (5) monitoring and transability of the process. This manuscript examines the first component of this process. The attributes of multiple parishes in Louisiana are examined using available data and existing models of human well-being, community resilience, and environmental/climate/socioeconomic justice. These existing models and tools were used to determine parish-level resilience to natural hazards including flooding, hurricanes, and other potential natural climatic hazards in central Louisiana (U.S.). Through consultation with state officials and local community groups, candidate environmental justice (EJ) and social justice (SJ) communities were selected to develop resilience capacity enhancement plans to address potential adverse parish and community outcomes of natural hazard events. Of the available parishes, St. Helena Parish was selected as an entity that would significantly benefit from resilience capacity building. The remaining two activities, community engagement and strategy development, will be examined in sister manuscripts. Continuing studies, to be described elsewhere, will describe community engagement and the determination of strategies, implementation plans, and the monitoring of the success of these strategic implementations.

Climate change presents multiple challenges to rural communities. Here, we investigated the toxicological potential of the six types of particulate matter most common to rural Arkansas: soil, road, and agricultural dusts, pollen, traffic exhaust, and particles from biomass burning in human small airway epithelial cells (SAECs). Biomass burning and agricultural dust demonstrated the most potent toxicological responses, exhibited as significant ( < 0.05) up-regulation of (oxidative stress) and (inflammatory response) genes as well as epigenetic alterations (altered expression of DNA methyltransferases , , and , enzymatic activity, and DNA methylation of alpha satellite elements) that were evident at both 24 h and 72 h of exposure. We further demonstrate evidence of aridification in the state of Arkansas and the presence of winds capable of transporting agricultural dust- and biomass burning-associated particles far beyond their origination. Partnerships in the form of citizen science projects may provide important solutions to prevent and mitigate the negative effects of the rapidly evolving climate and improve the well-being of rural communities. Furthermore, the identification of the most toxic types of particulate matter could inform local policies related to agriculture, biomass burning, and dust control.

Addressing the global challenges of desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD), and their impacts on achieving sustainable development goals for coupled human-environmental systems is a key component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In particular, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.3 aims to, ". Addressing this challenge is essential for improving the livelihoods of those most affected by DLDD and for safeguarding against the most extreme effects of climate change. This paper introduces a conceptual framework for improved monitoring of DLDD in the context of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Strategic Objective 2 (SO2) and its expected impacts: food security and adequate access to water for people in affected areas are improved; the livelihoods of people in affected areas are improved and diversified; local people, especially women and youth, are empowered and participate in decision-making processes in combating DLDD; and migration forced by desertification and land degradation is substantially reduced. While it is critical to develop methods and tools for assessing DLDD, work is needed first to provide a conceptual roadmap of the human dimensions of vulnerability in relation to DLDD, especially when attempting to create a globally standardized monitoring approach.

Sustainable and equitable urban development (S&EUD) is vital to promote healthy lives and well-being for all ages. Recognizing equity as core to urban development is essential to ensure that cities are inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the elements of equity and sustainability in exemplary bright spots using the ACE Framework and the United Nations' 5 Ps of Sustainable Development. A content analysis process was performed to identify initial case studies, obtain bright spot information, and select final case studies. The exemplary bright spots selected were assessed for drivers of equity and the five pillars of sustainability. Results showed that equity and sustainability have become key considerations in urban development work. Numerous effective strategies and outcomes identified in the exemplary bright spots could be replicated in other contexts.

The use of renewable energy to reduce fossil fuel consumption is a key strategy to mitigate pollution and climate change, resulting in the growing demand for new sources. Fast-growing proprietary cyanobacterial strains of with an average life cycle of 7-10 days, and a proven capacity to generate lipids for biofuel production are currently being studied. In this study, we investigated the growth and photosynthetic pigmentation of a cyanobacterial strain (SF33) in both greenhouse and outdoor bioreactors, and produced biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction. The cultivation of did not significantly differ under suboptimal conditions ( < 0.05), including in outdoor bioreactors with growth differences of less than 0.04 ( = 0.035) among various batches. An analysis of the biocrude's components revealed the presence of fatty acid biodiesel precursors such as palmitic acid and behenic acid, and alkanes such as hexadecane and heptadecane, used as biofuel additives. In addition, the quantification of value-added photosynthetic pigments revealed chlorophyll and phycocyanin concentrations of 0.0011 ± 5.83 × 10 μg/μL and 7.051 ± 0.067 μg/μg chlorophyll . Our results suggest the potential of as a robust species that can grow at varying temperatures ranging from 13 °C to 32 °C, while producing compounds for applications ranging from biofuel to nutritional supplements. The outcomes of this study pave the way for production-level scale-up and processing of -derived biofuels and marketable bioproducts. Fuel produced using this technology will be eco-friendly and cost-effective, and will make full use of the geographical location of regions with access to brackish waters.

Using primary data from 479 farmer households, this study examined the associations between agricultural and socioeconomic factors and farmer household dietary diversity in Visakhapatnam and Sonipat. Cropping intensity was positively associated with farmers' household dietary diversity score (HDDS), suggesting that higher cropping intensity may expand the gross cropped area and improve food security among subsistence farmers. Distance to food markets was also significantly associated with farmer HDDS, which suggests that market integration with rural households can improve farmer HDDS in Visakhapatnam. In Sonipat, wealth index had a positive association with farmer HDDS, targeting the income pathway by improving farmer HDDS in this region. Considering the relative contribution of these factors, distance to food markets, cropping intensity, and crop diversity were the three most important factors affecting farmer HDDS in Visakhapatnam, whereas wealth index, cropping intensity, and distance to food markets emerged as the top three important factors contributing to farmer HDDS in Sonipat. Our study concludes that the associations between agricultural and socioeconomic factors and farmer HDDS are complex but context- and location-specific; therefore, considering the site- and context-specific circumstances, different connections to HDDS in India can be found to better support policy priorities on the ground.

The sustainability of agroecosystems is at risk owing to continuous anthropogenic disturbance. As such, there is a need to evaluate indicator taxa that may be used to monitor the health of agricultural management systems. Carabid beetles are ubiquitous and functionally crucial in agroecosystems while at the same time are sensitive to the changes caused by management practices. Their quick response to anthropogenic disturbances has been proposed as a practical and realistic tool for monitoring the sustainability of agricultural practices. However, there is still disagreement about carabids as possible indicators of agroecosystem sustainability. We conducted a systematic review of the responses of carabid beetles to agricultural systems in different biogeographical areas. We examined whether these beetles could serve as potential indicators of agroecosystem sustainability. The ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus were used to search for papers published from 2000-2019. In total, we included 69 studies indicating the use of carabids to monitor the impact of management practices in agroecosystems. Most studies were conducted in European countries (n = 37), while Southern Africa and East Asia countries were significantly under-represented (n = 10). Carabid beetle response to agroecosystems varied between management practices, with biodiversity indices (n = 41: positive 60%, negative 19%, and neutral 19%) being the most measured response variable, followed by functional diversity (n = 28: positive 67%, negative 25%, and neutral 7%). Overall, our findings highlight the need for more research in underdeveloped countries, to investigate the potential of overlooked carabids and include response variables measuring functional diversity in assessing the sustainability of agricultural management. This will assist policy makers and land managers in making active and informed decisions about agroecological disturbances and management.

Smallholder farmers' maize production is highly susceptible to climate change. Higher temperatures may result in reduced yields while encouraging weed, pest, and disease infestation. The impacts of climate change on agriculture are projected to be negative, threatening global food security; therefore, this is an important area of empirical research. This study sought to identify the factors affecting the adoption and intensity of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) adoption among smallholder maize farmers in the uMshwathi and uKhahlamba Municipal areas of KwaZulu Natal. The study used the primary data collected from 99 respondents who were selected through simple random sampling. The descriptive results indicated that farmers had experienced severe climatic conditions such as drought, pests, diseases, hailstorms, heavy rains (floods), soil infertility, and frost in their farming system. The first hurdle of the probit model results showed that drought, on-farm income, and household size significantly influenced the adoption of CSA practices. In contrast, the main source of income and educational level had a significant negative influence. The results from the second hurdle showed that drought had a significant positive impact on the intensity of CSA adoption, while marital status had a significant negative effect. Several factors influence the adoption of an intensification of CSA practices. The study recommends that policymakers and climate change champions consider smallholder farmers' socioeconomic factors when developing climate change adaptation programs. Local climate change organizations must scale up climate change awareness and adaptation programs collaboratively. Investments in public climate and adaptation education or training are needed, as well as localized meteorological observations and early warning systems. Mass media dissemination of climate change and adaptation information in locally understood languages is urgently required.

Changes in hydrologic and climatic trends will influence the ecology of Florida, and climate scenarios agree that many areas of Florida are susceptible to sea-level rise impacts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Climate Change Action Program focuses on a framework to examine climate change effects on fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats of all three. To follow the program, this study examines how to incorporate current scientific knowledge about regional climate projections in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service analyses. It provides climate change and sea-level rise projections based on 2017 projections, information on changes in tropical cyclones, temperatures, and precipitation. This study also examines future effects of sea-level rise on existing habitat from saltwater intrusion of the freshwater lens below Big Pine Key. Projections of future sea-water elevations will periodically be reached or exceeded well before 2040 from short-term, stochastic, and extreme events (e.g., king tides and storm surge), and will increasingly inundate the root zone before complete saltwater intrusion. Future trends were connected to 2017 stakeholder-driven conversations about adaptation strategies to develop a suite of actions for creating temporary or permanent freshwater resources. However, beyond 3 ft (0.9 m) of sea-level rise, there are few adaptation options available for the Florida Key deer beyond relocations outside of the Florida Keys. Overall, the approach of connecting future environmental trends to assessments of fish and wildlife resources of concern can be transferred to other situations. Additionally, this approach can be used to update these analyses, such as with the recent 2022 sea-level rise updates by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, released after this work was conducted.

We investigated the association of urban landscape profiles with health and environmental outcomes, and whether those profiles are linked to environmental and health co-benefits. In this ecological study, we used data from 208 cities in 8 Latin American countries of the (SALURBAL) project. Four urban landscape profiles were defined with metrics for the fragmentation, isolation, and shape of patches (contiguous area of urban development). Four environmental measures (lack of greenness, PM, NO, and carbon footprint), two cause-specific mortality rates (non-communicable diseases and unintentional injury mortality), and prevalence of three risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and obesity) for adults were used as the main outcomes. We used linear regression models to evaluate the association of urban landscape profiles with environmental and health outcomes. In addition, we used finite mixture modeling to create co-benefit classes. Cities with the scattered pixels profile (low fragmentation, high isolation, and compact shaped patches) were most likely to have positive co-benefits. Profiles described as proximate stones (moderate fragmentation, moderate isolation, and irregular shape) and proximate inkblots (moderate-high fragmentation, moderate isolation, and complex shape) were most likely to have negative co-benefits. The contiguous large inkblots profile (low fragmentation, low isolation, and complex shape) was most likely to have mixed benefits.

To combat maternal morbidity and mortality, interventions designed to increase physical activity levels during and after pregnancy are needed. Mobile phone-based interventions show considerable promise, and BumptUp has been carefully developed to address the lack of exercise among pregnant and postpartum women. The primary goal of this pilot study was to test the potential efficacy of BumptUp for improving physical activity among pregnant and postpartum women. A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed (N = 35) with women either receiving access to the mhealth app or an educational brochure. Physical activity and self-efficacy for exercise data were collected at baseline (in mid-pregnancy) and at three additional timepoints (late pregnancy, 6 and 12 weeks postpartum). For moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, a clear trend is observed as the mean estimated difference between groups increases from -0.35 (SE: 1.75) in mid-pregnancy to -0.81 (SE: 1.75) in late pregnancy. For self-efficacy for exercise, the estimated difference of means (control-intervention) changed from 0.96 (SE: 6.53) at baseline to -7.64 (SE: 6.66) in late pregnancy and remained at -6.41 (SE: 6.79) and -6.70 (SE: 6.96) at 6 and 12 weeks postpartum, respectively. When assessing the change in self-efficacy from mid-to -ate pregnancy only, there was a statistically significant difference between groups ( = 0.044). BumptUp (version 1.0 (3)) shows potential for efficacy. Pilot data suggest key refinements to be made and a larger clinical trial is warranted.

Although there is rising global concern over the environmental, ecological, and human health risks associated with the discharge of leachates from e-waste dumpsites into the aquatic ecosystems, little is known in this research area. Thus, for this study, we first defined the chemistry of the test leachate, followed by assessment of the leachate on the development of a model aquatic organism () used extensively as a bioassay organism in pollution studies. Chemical analyses revealed that levels of phosphate (20.03 mg/L), cadmium (Cd) (0.4 mg/L), lead (Pb) (0.2 mg/L), and chromium (Cr) (0.4 mg/L) were higher than the 2009 US EPA and the 2009 National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) permissible limits. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) burdens were dominated mainly by the high molecular weight congeners, specifically the ∑4rings (73 μg/L). Total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) levels ranged from 0.00 to 0.40 μg/L with the ∑deca PCBs reaching the highest concentration. For the biological studies, embryos (48-h post-fertilization) were divided randomly into groups and exposed to one of six e-waste leachate concentrations (10, 1, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, 0.0001%). Significant differences ( ≤ 0.05) between treated and control groups were observed in standard and total length, and head size. Further analysis using Duncan's post-hoc test of multiple comparison also revealed specific differences within and between specific treatment groups. We conclude that e-waste leachate arising from indiscriminate dumping into aquatic ecosystems in Nigeria contains mixtures of toxic constituents that can threaten ecosystem and public health.

Riparian buffer zones (RBZs) have been shown to be effective best management practices (BMPs) in controlling non-point source pollutants in waterbodies. However, the holistic sustainability assessment of individual RBZ designs is lacking. We present a methodology for evaluating the holistic sustainability of RBZ policy scenarios by integrating environmental and economic indicators simulated in three watersheds in the southeastern USA. We developed three unique sets of 40, 32, and 48 RBZ policy scenarios as decision management objectives (DMOs), respectively, in Back Creek, Sycamore Creek, and Greens Mill Run watersheds (Virginia and North Carolina) by combining the RBZ-widths with vegetation types (grass, urban, naturalized, wildlife, three-zone forest, and two-zone forest). We adapted the RBZ-hydrologic and water quality system assessment data of instream water quality parameters (dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total suspended solids-sediment and biochemical oxygen demand) as environmental indicators, recently published by U.S. EPA. We calculated 20-year net present value costs as economic indicators using the RBZ's establishment, maintenance, and opportunity costs data published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The mean normalized net present value costs varied by DMOs ranging from 4% (grass RBZ-1.9 m) to 500% (wildlife RBZ-91.4 m) across all watersheds, due primarily to the width and the opportunity costs. The mean normalized environmental indicators varied by watersheds, with the largest change in total nitrogen due to urban RBZs in Back Creek (60-95%), Sycamore Creek (37-91%), and Greens Mill (52-93%). The holistic sustainability assessments revealed the least to most sustainable DMOs for each watershed, from least sustainable wildlife RBZ (score of 0.54), three-zone forest RBZ (0.32), and three-zone forest RBZ (0.62), respectively, for Back Creek, Sycamore Creek, and Greens Mill, to most sustainable urban RBZ (1.00) for all watersheds.

Repairing and repurposing clothes can extend their lifetime, helping reduce the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. We aimed to investigate influences on clothing repair and repurpose using the Theoretical Domains Framework. A survey was conducted with a representative sample of 300 UK citizens. The frequency of, and influences on, clothing repair and repurpose behaviour were measured with self-report scales and a free-text item. Quantitative (logistic regression) and qualitative (thematic) analyses were used to identify barriers and enablers of behaviour. Findings showed that participants typically engaged in the behaviour every six months. The main barriers concerned a lack of skills, poor product design, unaffordability of repair services, and incongruence with identity. Key enablers concerned the ability to focus during DIY tasks, dynamic social norms, beliefs about benefits of repairing, emotional attachment to clothing, and having routines and habits of repairing. This study is the first to apply the Behaviour Change Wheel to identify intervention types and behaviour change techniques that can modify these influences, such as training workshops and the provision of free repair and repurpose services. Policy options were suggested to support implementation, such as extended producer responsibility. Awareness and skill-building campaigns, while important, are not enough to support behaviour change; structural and policy changes are needed.

Increased generation of waste, production of plastics, and poor environmental stewardship has led to an increase in floating litter. Significant efforts have been dedicated to mitigating this globally relevant issue. Depending on the location of floating litter, removal methods would vary, but usually include manual cleanups by volunteers or workers, use of heavy machinery to rake or sweep litter off beaches or roads, or passive litter collection traps. In the open ocean or streams, a common passive technique is to use booms and a collection receptacle to trap floating litter. These passive traps are usually installed to intercept floating litter; however, identifying the appropriate locations for installing these collection devices is still not fully investigated. We utilized four common criteria and fifteen sub-criteria to determine the most appropriate setup location for an in-stream collection device (Litter Gitter-Osprey Initiative, LLC, Mobile, AL, USA). Bayesian Network technology was applied to analyze these criteria comprehensively. A case study composed of multiple sites across the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast was used to validate the proposed approach, and propagation and sensitivity analyses were used to evaluate performance. The results show that the fifteen summarized criteria combined with the Bayesian Network approach could aid location selection and have practical potential for in-stream litter collection devices in coastal areas.

There is increasing evidence from across the globe that climate change results in changes in the frequency, location, and impact of natural hazards. Much of this evidence is conceptual, inferential, or simply assumed. To provide objective support to confirm these hypotheses, we constructed county-level time-series datasets (2000-2019) for nine natural hazards for the entire United States. Hazards considered for this study included hurricanes, tropical storms, landslides, wildfires, earthquakes, drought, inland flooding, coastal flooding, and tornadoes. Geospatial analysis techniques were used to calculate the percentage (range: 0-100) of land area in each county exposed to each natural hazard for all the years that hazard data were available. The best available data were acquired from publicly accessible sources. Cumulative distribution functions were calculated for each hazard in five-year intervals to test for statistically significant changes in distribution patterns across the five-year time periods using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. There were significant changes in hurricanes, tropical storms, and drought over the two decades; changes in tornadoes, landslides, and wildfires were not significant in terms of frequency, likely due to the site-specific nature of their occurrences. The intensity and spatial distribution and an emerging hot spot and spatial trend analyses and an emerging hot spot and spatial trend analyses were also completed (except for flooding events and earthquakes due to insufficient data). All datasets provide empirical support for earlier inferences concerning the connections between the hazards and climate change. Analyses showed apparent changes in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, tropical storms, and drought-related to climate change factors. Internal and coastal flooding also demonstrated these connections, although the length of the dataset did not permit significant testing but shows significant hot spots and trending locations. Tornadoes, landslides, and wildfires showed significant hot spots and trending locations, but the specific locational nature of the data did not show significant changes in frequency. Earthquakes showed no significant changes over the time period.

A lack of confidence in the efficacy of respiratory protection can contribute to uncertainty among workers and cast doubt on workplace safety. To date, no research has been conducted to study and understand the introduction of elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMRs)-without exhalation valves (EVs) or with exhalation valve filters (EVFs), both representing new designs that address source control-in the workplace. To study this issue, researchers collaborated with partners at 32 health delivery settings that received EHMRs from the Strategic National Stockpile during the COVID-19 pandemic. EHMR users = 882) completed an online survey between October 2021 and September 2022. Analyses demonstrated that employees were statistically significantly more confident in the efficacy of EHMRs with no EV/with an EVF (including the efficacy in protecting the user from COVID-19) if they had been fit tested and received training. Respondents were also statistically significantly more confident in the efficacy of their EHMR if they had a more positive perception of their organization's safety climate. The results provide insights for tailored fit testing and training procedures as manufacturers continue to improve respirator models to enhance worker comfort and use. Results also show that, even during a public health emergency, the role of safety climate cannot be ignored as an organizational factor to support worker knowledge, attitudes, and participation in health and safety behaviors specific to respirator use.