ISRCTN - ISRCTN85847827: Indoor Air Pollution and Health in Developing Countries

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 (USA)

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