Home Health and Air Pollution Study

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about whether indoor air quality will improve over time in homes where occupants receive personalized information about levels of health-relevant air pollutants that includes practical, budget-friendly, and culturally relevant recommendations on actions they can take to improve their home's air quality. The rationale for the investigators' approach is that a rigorous intervention study design will generate robust evidence on the value of the in-home environmental data. Participating homes in both the intervention and control groups will receive three, one-week Home Health Box deployments spaced six weeks apart. After each of the first two deployments, homes in the intervention group will receive a Home Health Report with personalized information about in-home levels of health-relevant air pollutants and cost-sensitive recommendations on actions occupants can take to improve their home's air quality. The investigators will (a) investigate whether and how air quality changes over time in control and intervention homes and (b) survey intervention households on the utility of the Home Health Reports.

Study participation will involve: (i) an intake survey; (ii) random assignment to the intervention or control group (this will be done in blocks of 4 households, to maintain balance in the intervention and control groups over the course of study enrollment); (iii) three in-home air quality monitoring deployments with the Home Health Box; (iv) three Home Health Reports (for those randomly assigned to the intervention group) generated from data the Home Health Box provides; and (v) a follow-up survey in a subset of intervention households to investigate the value and utility of the Home Health Report. The Home Health Report will provide quantitative information about health-relevant pollutants (fine particulate matter, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds), their levels compared to health-based guidelines, their potential sources, as well as no- and low-cost actions occupants could take to improve indoor air quality. The Home Health Report will be designed to maximize utility to residents. Each Home Health Report will be provided within approximately three to four weeks after the corresponding Home Health Box has been received from the household. The second Home Health Box deployment will occur within several weeks to one month of the household receiving their first Home Health Report. The third and final Home Health Box deployment will occur within several weeks to one month of the household receiving their second Home Health. Households in the control group will also receive three Home Health Box deployments spaced approximately four to eight weeks apart, but will not receive Home Health Reports after the first and second deployments. At the close of their participation in the study, households in both the intervention and control groups will receive a comprehensive Home Health Report, including results from all three Home Health Box deployments and recommended actions occupants could take to improve their home air quality. In total, participation in this study will last between four to six months.