Extreme heat kills more americans annually than any other weather-related hazard, and southern nevada is among the most exposed communities in the country

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the Desert Research Institute $218,039 on September 1, 2026, under the Broad Agency Announcement (CFDA 11.015) to conduct research on heat-health communication effectiveness in Southern Nevada.

The Desert Research Institute will design and administer an online survey experiment with approximately 500 Southern Nevada adults to test how residents respond to carefully developed heat-health message frames. Participants will be randomly assigned to view different message treatments and will complete standardized measures of clarity, credibility, relevance, urgency, trust, and intended protective action. The survey instrument will be developed through a targeted literature review and consultation with local advisors.

The recipient will deliver findings as four distinct products: a policy-relevant research report; a concise decision-maker brief for local and regional partners; a scholarly manuscript on heat-risk communication and public preparedness; and a roadmap for future implementation. Results will be shared through decision-maker briefings with public-health agencies, emergency management partners, and relevant policy audiences in Southern Nevada.

The project is motivated by extreme heat's status as the leading weather-related hazard causing American fatalities and Southern Nevada's high exposure. The research addresses a disconnect between documented heat risk and public-facing guidance that often lacks evidence of resident credibility, trust, and protective action responses.

Work is performed in Reno, Nevada, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2027.

Despite well-documented heat risk, public-facing guidance often lacks the evidence base needed to ensure residents understand, trust, and act on protective information. Public agencies are frequently making communication decisions without systematic data on which messages residents find credible, what information needs remain unmet, and what guidance best supports protective action. This disconnect is not merely a communication problem. IT is a public policy and decision-making challenge. This project will design and administer an online survey experiment with approximately 500 southern nevada adults to test how residents respond to a set of carefully developed heat-health message frames. Participants will be randomly assigned to view different message treatments and will complete standardized measures of clarity, credibility, relevance, urgency, trust, and intended protective action. The survey instrument will be developed through a targeted literature review and limited consultation with local advisors. Findings will be translated into: (1) a policy-relevant research report; (2) a concise decision-maker brief for local and regional partners; (3) a scholarly manuscript on heat-risk communication and public preparedness; and (4) a roadmap for future implementation. Results will be shared through decision-maker briefings with public-health agencies, emergency management partners, and relevant policy audiences. This pilot will generate evidence to support more effective future actions. By treating heat-health communication as a decision-support challenge, this project will produce knowledge directly usable by and applicable to public agencies responsible for heat preparedness in southern nevada, positioning the region as a model for evidence-informed heat preparedness across the rapidly growing, high-heat communities of the american west.