Transport and Health Resources and Strategic Solutions (TAHRSS) 
Be part of the solution to combat chronic disease through innovative knowledge transfer - become a sponsor!
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You can make a tax-deductible donation to become a TAHRSS sponsor by clicking the button below that will direct you to the IPATH donation page offered through PayPal. Thank you so much for your support of this very important transformational initiative.
IPATH is a federally designate 501(c)(3) nonprofit member-based organization.
IPATH has submitted the following grant applications for review and consideration in 2026:

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Submitted 20 January 2026
Proposal Number: 2612987
Proposal Title: NSF TTP-T: Transdisciplinary Workforce Development Through Innovative Crowdsourcing-Based Technology of Community Transport and Health Tools

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Submitted 13 April
Phase: Brief Phase (ID 163070)
Project Title: Reimagining Transport & Health Knowledge Systems for Equity: A Data-Driven, Place-Based Pilot in the United States, Informed by European Practice
Transport and Health Resources and Strategic Solutions (TAHRSS) 

Overview
Transportation is a vital component to community sustainability in terms of accessing health care, housing, nutritious foods, education, employment, leisure activities, and social networks. Thus, activity patterns, personal decisions, behavioral rules and the travel environment influence a person’s travel behavior with respect to the multidimensional nature of choice and the impacts on personal health, quality of life and well-being.  As complicated at this sounds, most transportation professionals do not realize that they are public health practitioners. 

The main objective of this proposal is to create an interactive online repository herein referred to as Transport and Health Resources and Strategic Solutions (TAHRSS) to address the shortfall in knowledge and real-world application of data and information related to the impacts of the US transportation infrastructure on health, quality of life and wellbeing through a crowdsourced community platform. 

TAHRSS is organized into five distinct but interrelated work packages. Each work package has a team leader assigned based on area of expertise with goals and objectives to ensure a defined deliverable. This streamlining of tasks is meant to create operational efficiencies and reduce the risk incidence. The graphic below summarizes work packages one through five that support the objective of the project.
​TAHRSS will be populated based on a standard template with resources compiled from a systematic review of existing scientific literature and best practice-based evidence, performance metric tools, and methods drawn from across the globe. This will ensure the most complete reference materials including lessons learned, alternate approaches, performance metrics and perspectives to add to and improve best practices. Pre and Post-test surveys will be used to assess knowledge transfer based on learning objectives for each transportation and health topic area and earned professional CEU by the stakeholder. 

Intellectual Merit
The intellectual merit of TAHRSS is pivotal to increasing the accessibility of qualitative and quantitative performance metrics and other information to practice professionals who may not have the education and/or real-world experience required to properly evaluate a particular health intervention and/or community infrastructure project. The crowdsourcing community functions as a consultant of knowledge transfer complemented by pre and post-test surveys and consultants of subject matter experts with the skill set to apply a particular tool. TAHRSS has the potential to educate the workforce and establish baseline health outcomes required to properly assess the impact of a transportation facility.

Broader Impacts
The societal benefits of the online repository are knowledge transfer and real-world application of data and information through workforce development aimed at improving quality of life, health, and well-being in communities affected by the negative and positive consequences of transportation infrastructure projects. Externalities are realized over the life course by greater access to healthy foods, medical care, housing, community cohesion, recreational and leisure activities, and employment reflected in decreases in overall healthcare costs and a thriving economy.
Allostatic Load as Chronic Disease
The graphic below demonstrates the integrative nature of factors influencing health and the development of chronic disease over the life course. Note that this information is NOT part of the NSF grant application but serves as the basis for the pending doctoral research of Karyn M Warsow.
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This graphic is proprietary information owned by Karyn M. Warsow
The conceptual framework demonstrates the synergy of risk and protective factors involved in the development of chronic disease over the life course and the impact of surface transportation. Based on the principles of the socio-ecological model, this theoretical framework is a process-oriented approach accounting for the psychological/behavioral, social and biological contexts over time beginning with preconception and extending through to old age. The emphasis is on individual choice and how choice sets in motion one's life trajectory and social well-being. Thus, the choice of transportation modality is dependent upon place of residence (urban, suburban or rural) in which an individual may choose to walk, bicycle; use public transit, rail; or drive a motor vehicle. These choices are influenced by the availability of transportation alternatives within a community, perceived personal and budgetary constraints, attitude, habit and educational information. The result is a graphic depiction of the way human utility, and the interplay of life stressors manifest in the body as chronic disease. 
Be part of the solution to combat chronic disease through innovative knowledge transfer - become a sponsor!
You can make a tax-deductible donation to become a TAHRSS sponsor by clicking the button below that will direct you to the IPATH donation page offered through PayPal. Thank you so much for your support of this very important transformational initiative.

IPATH is a federally designate 501(c)(3) nonprofit member-based organization.
Project Background & History
HOW did the ORIGINAL project start? 
Easy. Through simple HUMAN ingenuity! A group of researchers and practitioners came together to solve a community problem.
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​The Transportation Public Health Link (TPH Link), International Professional Association for Transport & Health (IPATH) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) are working in collaboration to create a Transport and Health Performance Metric Guidebook (THPMG). It is through transdisciplinary and multi-sector partnerships that spur innovation by merging different perspectives. 

​This project deliverable is meant to provide a user friendly 'Go To' guidebook for professionals in need of quantitative and qualitative tools to measure the health impacts of a transport infrastructure project at the community level.

The Guidebook initiative is the result of three (3) working group sessions held during the International Conference on Transport & Health (ICTH) 2018-Mackinac Island, 24-27 June 2018. This conference event has been renamed as the IPATH Annual Meeting.

ICTH Project Summary
  • Day 1 focused on current quantitative tools in practice, what’s missing and a feasible strategy to pulling the guidebook together as a published deliverable.
  • Day 2 was spent discussing the tools for inclusion, timeline and review the editorial process in preparation for the published document.
  • Day 3 teams held a debriefing of project deliverables.
THPMG chapter topics include (original grouping):
  • ​Access Destination & Community Severance - 1st Draft in Process 
  • Aging
  • Air Quality
  • Autonomous Vehicles
  • ​Bicycling - DRAFT Complete
  • Climate Change
  • Disability Access​
  • Economics - 1st Draft in Process
  • Environmental Justice/Equity
  • Equestrianism
  • Gender & Transport - DRAFT Complete​​
  • Health Impact Assessment/Environmental Review
  • Mental Health
  • Noise Pollution
  • Road Safety & Injury Prevention
  • Shared Options (Bicycle/Transportation Network Companies) - 1st Draft Complete
  • Safe Routes to School - 1st Draft in Process
  • Toll Roads
  • Transit - DRAFT Complete
  • ​Walkability - 1st DRAFT in Process
  • Water Pollution
Equestrianism & Philanthropy
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​A lot of the ongoing work in the field of transport and health is focused on Smart Cities and/or urban planning. Most often, rural communities are left out of the discussion. IPATH has a team focused on the challenges of rural populations, specifically access. Due to the impact of rural geographies on human health from sociopolitical (health), economic and environmental perspectives, Equestrianism, as a component of rural health, has been included in TAHRSS as a standalone topic area. Further, IPATH has adopted a philanthropic mission to preserve and protect the HORSE, The Forgotten Mode of Transport. Join us for a heartwarming journey to learn, share, and possibly save a life or two along with way. Click HERE for additional information.
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