 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Lonna B. Shafritz, CHANGE Project, Academy for Educational Development, 1875 Connecticut Ave, 9th floor, Washington, DC 20009, 202-884-8784, lshafrit@aed.org, Michael N Favin, MA, MPH, CHANGE Project, The Manoff Group, 2001 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009, Brendon R Barnes, M Soc Sci, Health and Development Group, Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 87373, Houghton, 2041, South Africa, and Laurie Krieger, Ph D, Manoff International, 2001 S Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20009.
Purpose: To determine the most feasible behavioral interventions to reduce Indoor Air Pollution in rural South Africa.
Data/methods: In phase 1, researchers conducted 14-hour-long observations, as well as individual interviews with 40 households in two rural areas. Half of the households had young children of "higher" and half had children with "lower" incidences of Acute Lower Respiratory Infections. Focus groups were conducted with other community mothers. Behavioral trials (TIPs) were then conducted with a stratified sample of 30 households, using four potential interventions, based on phase 1 results.
Major results Data from phase 1 suggest that interventions focusing on switching fuels or heating appliances are not feasible due to low income. Consequently, four other potential interventions were selected. Of these, TIPs results showed that families were least likely to fix broken stoves. The other three behaviors - opening multiple sources of ventilation for longer periods of time, keeping children further from the burning appliance, and reducing the amount of time burning occurs - were easier for more people to do for the one-month trial period. Each behavior, however, has its own limitations and perceived benefits.
Recommendations · Each household should be encouraged to undertake those behaviors that are most feasible for them to achieve and maintain. · Wider use of this effective two-step process to identifying feasible behaviors should be encouraged. · It is important to get measures of actual scientific outcomes for the different behaviors to determine which behaviors are most effective from a health standpoint.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Behavioral Research, Indoor Environment
Related Web page: www.changeproject.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.