Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Acute respiratory (lung) infections are the leading killer of children worldwide and indoor air pollution due to biomass (e.g., wood) burning is thought to be a principal cause. However, no study has experimentally studied why so many rural households use inferior cooking technologies with potentially devastating health consequences. This study will address these limitations in current knowledge about indoor air pollution. The studys major objective is to assess why households choose to cook with traditional cooking technologies by randomly allocating various incentives and conditions under which improved cookstoves can be adopted.
Who can participate?
Household heads representative of households in two study districts (Hatia and Jamalpur) will complete surveys, which will include information about all household members (all ages, male and female, almost exclusively ethnic Bengalis) and women, all ethnicities in Bangladesh (all speak Bangla).
What does the study involve?
The study has two parts. The first is a population-representative survey of rural households stated preferences about cooking technologies. The second is a trial that offers cookstoves to households, randomly assigning cookstove types, prices, and household members to which offers were made (male and female household heads) in the districts of Jamalpur and Hatia in Bangladesh.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The main benefits of participation are the opportunity to obtain a new cookstove (if a participant chooses) and the creation of new knowledge about the determinants of cookstove demand; the main risk associated with participation is loss of confidentiality in the research process.
Where is the study run from?
The project is a collaboration between Stanford University, Yale University, and BRAC.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
The study ran from July 2006 to February 2011.
Who is funding the study?
The study is funded by the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, the National Science Foundation, the DFID/LSE/Oxford International GrowthCentre, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Yale Climate and Energy Initiative for support.
Who is the main contact?
Mushfiq Mobarak
ahmed.mobarak@yale.edu
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Norman G. Miller
ORCID ID
Contact details
CHP/PCOR
117 Encina Commons
MC:6019
Stanford
94305
United States of America
+1 650 723 2714
ngmiller@stanford.edu
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Indoor Air Pollution and Health in Developing Countries: An Intervention Study in Bangladesh
Acronym
Study hypothesis
Acute respiratory infections are the leading killer of children worldwide and indoor air pollution due to biomass combustion is thought to be a principal cause. However, no study has experimentally studied why so many rural households use inferior cooking technologies with potentially devastating health consequences. This study will address these limitations in current knowledge about indoor air pollution.
The studys major objective is to assess why households choose to cook with traditional cooking technologies by randomising various incentives and conditions under which improved cookstoves can be adopted.
Ethics approval
The Stanford IRB approved the project protocol on 07/06/2006 (ref: Stanford IRB protocol 6454)
Study design
Randomised controlled interventional trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Other
Trial type
Screening
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Indoor Air Pollution
Intervention
Randomised on the basis of:
1. Price
2. Information about the stove adoption choices of opinion leaders
3. A choice between two types of cookstoves and pre-determined prices
4. Whether or not cookstove offers were made to male or female household heads
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Not Applicable
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Adoption of an improved cookstove
Secondary outcome measures
No secondary outcome measures
Overall trial start date
06/07/2006
Overall trial end date
28/02/2011
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Household heads representative of households in two study districts (Hatia and Jamalpur) will complete surveys, which will include information about all household members (all ages, male and female, almost exclusively ethnic Bengalis) and women, all ethnicities in Bangladesh (all speak Bangla)
2. The inclusion of pregnant women in the pilot project is necessary because the health behaviors of pregnant women in selecting household fuel sources are important because of their implications for the health of both women and unborn foetuses
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
3,000 representative rural Bangladeshi households
Participant exclusion criteria
A representative sample of household heads from study regions was chosen. In some cases we selected men, and in others we selected women (and so women were excluded in the former, men in the latter). Otherwise, there were none.
Recruitment start date
06/07/2006
Recruitment end date
28/02/2011
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Bangladesh
Trial participating centre
CHP/PCOR
Stanford
94305
United States of America
Sponsor information
Organisation
Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University
Sponsor details
Jerry Yang & Akiko Yamazaki Environment & Energy Building
MC 4205
473 Via Ortega
Stanford
94305
United States of America
+1 650 736 8668
environment@stanford.edu
Sponsor type
Research council
Website
Funders
Funder type
University/education
Funder name
Woods Institute for the Environment - The Stanford University (USA)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2012 results in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22689941
Publication citations
-
Results
Mobarak AM, Dwivedi P, Bailis R, Hildemann L, Miller G, Low demand for nontraditional cookstove technologies., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2012, 109, 27, 10815-10820, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1115571109.