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Checkley W, Thompson LM, Hossen S, Nicolaou L, Williams KN, Hartinger SM, Chiang M, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Thangavel G, Aravindalochanan V, Rosa G, Mukeshimana A, Ndagijimana F, McCracken JP, Diaz-Artiga A, Sinharoy SS, Waller L, Wang J, Jabbarzadeh S, Chen Y, Steenland K, Kirby MA, Ramakrishnan U, Johnson M, Pillarisetti A, McCollum ED, Craik R, Ohuma EO, Dávila-Román VG, de Las Fuentes L, Simkovich SM, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Papageorghiou AT. Cooking with liquefied petroleum gas or biomass and fetal growth outcomes: a multi-country randomised controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health 2024; 12:e815-e825. [PMID: 38614630 PMCID: PMC11027158 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(24)00033-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Household air pollution might lead to fetal growth restriction during pregnancy. We aimed to investigate whether a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) intervention to reduce personal exposures to household air pollution during pregnancy would alter fetal growth. METHODS The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial was an open-label randomised controlled trial conducted in ten resource-limited settings across Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. Pregnant women aged 18-34 years (9-19 weeks of gestation) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive an LPG stove, continuous fuel delivery, and behavioural messaging or to continue usual cooking with biomass for 18 months. We conducted ultrasound assessments at baseline, 24-28 weeks of gestation (the first pregnancy visit), and 32-36 weeks of gestation (the second pregnancy visit), to measure fetal size; we monitored 24 h personal exposures to household air pollutants during these visits; and we weighed children at birth. We conducted intention-to-treat analyses to estimate differences in fetal size between the intervention and control group, and exposure-response analyses to identify associations between household air pollutants and fetal size. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02944682). FINDINGS Between May 7, 2018, and Feb 29, 2020, we randomly assigned 3200 pregnant women (1593 to the intervention group and 1607 to the control group). The mean gestational age was 14·5 (SD 3·0) weeks and mean maternal age was 25·6 (4·5) years. We obtained ultrasound assessments in 3147 (98·3%) women at baseline, 3052 (95·4%) women at the first pregnancy visit, and 2962 (92·6%) at the second pregnancy visit, through to Aug 25, 2020. Intervention adherence was high (the median proportion of days with biomass stove use was 0·0%, IQR 0·0-1·6) and pregnant women in the intervention group had lower mean exposures to particulate matter with a diameter less than 2·5 μm (PM2·5; 35·0 [SD 37·2] μg/m3vs 103·3 [97·9] μg/m3) than did women in the control group. We did not find differences in averaged post-randomisation Z scores for head circumference (0·30 vs 0·39; p=0·04), abdominal circumference (0·38 vs 0·39; p=0·99), femur length (0·44 vs 0·45; p=0·73), and estimated fetal weight or birthweight (-0·13 vs -0·12; p=0·70) between the intervention and control groups. Personal exposures to household air pollutants were not associated with fetal size. INTERPRETATION Although an LPG cooking intervention successfully reduced personal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, it did not affect fetal size. Our findings do not support the use of unvented liquefied petroleum gas stoves as a strategy to increase fetal growth in settings were biomass fuels are used predominantly for cooking. FUNDING US National Institutes of Health and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. TRANSLATIONS For the Kinyarwanda, Spanish and Tamil translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Checkley
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Lisa M Thompson
- Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Shakir Hossen
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laura Nicolaou
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kendra N Williams
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Stella M Hartinger
- Latin American Center of Excellence on Climate Change and Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Marilu Chiang
- Biomedical Research Unit, Asociación Benéfica PRISMA, Lima, Perú
| | - Kalpana Balakrishnan
- ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
| | - Sarada S Garg
- ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
| | - Gurusamy Thangavel
- ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
| | - Vigneswari Aravindalochanan
- ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
| | - Ghislaine Rosa
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | | | | | - John P McCracken
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Anaité Diaz-Artiga
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Sheela S Sinharoy
- Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lance Waller
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jiantong Wang
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Shirin Jabbarzadeh
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yunyun Chen
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kyle Steenland
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Miles A Kirby
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Usha Ramakrishnan
- Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Ajay Pillarisetti
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Eric D McCollum
- Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Global Program in Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, Eudowood Division of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Eudowood Division of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rachel Craik
- Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Eric O Ohuma
- Centre for Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive & Child Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Victor G Dávila-Román
- Cardiovascular Imaging and Clinical Research Core Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Lisa de Las Fuentes
- Cardiovascular Imaging and Clinical Research Core Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Suzanne M Simkovich
- Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Healthcare Delivery Research, MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jennifer L Peel
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Thomas F Clasen
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Aris T Papageorghiou
- Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
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Younger A, Ye W, Alkon A, Harknett K, Kirby MA, Elon L, Lovvorn AE, Wang J, Diaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Castañaza Gonzalez A, Alarcon LM, Mukeshimana A, Rosa G, Chiang M, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Pillarisetti A, Piedrahita R, Johnson MA, Craik R, Papageorghiou AT, Toenjes A, Williams KN, Underhill LJ, Hartinger SM, Nicolaou L, Chang HH, Naeher LP, Rosenthal J, Checkley W, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Thompson LM. Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas stove intervention on stillbirth, congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality: A multi-country household air pollution intervention network trial. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024; 345:123414. [PMID: 38286258 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking with solid fuels used during pregnancy has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial was a randomized controlled trial that assessed the impact of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention on health in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. Here we investigated the effects of the LPG stove and fuel intervention on stillbirth, congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality and characterized exposure-response relationships between personal exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) and these outcomes. Pregnant women (18 to <35 years of age; gestation confirmed by ultrasound at 9 to <20 weeks) were randomly assigned to intervention or control arms. We monitored these fetal and neonatal outcomes and personal exposure to PM2.5, BC and CO three times during pregnancy, we conducted intention-to-treat (ITT) and exposure-response (E-R) analyses to determine if the HAPIN intervention and corresponding HAP exposure was associated with the risk of fetal/neonatal outcomes. A total of 3200 women (mean age 25.4 ± 4.4 years, mean gestational age at randomization 15.4 ± 3.1 weeks) were included in this analysis. Relative risks for stillbirth, congenital anomaly and neonatal mortality were 0.99 (0.60, 1.66), 0.92 (95 % CI 0.52, 1.61), and 0.99 (0.54, 1.85), respectively, among women in the intervention arm compared to controls in an ITT analysis. Higher mean personal exposures to PM2.5, CO and BC during pregnancy were associated with a higher, but statistically non-significant, incidence of adverse outcomes. The LPG stove and fuel intervention did not reduce the risk of these outcomes nor did we find evidence supporting an association between personal exposures to HAP and stillbirth, congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Younger
- School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Wenlu Ye
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Abbey Alkon
- School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kristen Harknett
- School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Miles A Kirby
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lisa Elon
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Amy E Lovvorn
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, CA, USA
| | - Jiantong Wang
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Anaité Diaz-Artiga
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - John P McCracken
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Libny Monroy Alarcon
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | | | - Ghislaine Rosa
- Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Marilu Chiang
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kalpana Balakrishnan
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Chennai, India
| | - Sarada S Garg
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Chennai, India
| | - Ajay Pillarisetti
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Rachel Craik
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Aris T Papageorghiou
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ashley Toenjes
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kendra N Williams
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Lindsay J Underhill
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Stella M Hartinger
- Latin American Center of Excellence on Climate Change and Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Laura Nicolaou
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Howard H Chang
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Luke P Naeher
- Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Joshua Rosenthal
- Division of Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - William Checkley
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jennifer L Peel
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Thomas F Clasen
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, CA, USA
| | - Lisa M Thompson
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, CA, USA; Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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3
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Simkovich SM, Hossen S, McCollum ED, Toenjes AK, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Castañaza A, Diaz A, Rosa G, Kirby MA, Mukeshimana A, Myers R, Lenzen PM, Craik R, Jabbarzadeh S, Elon L, Garg SS, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Dávila-Román VG, Papageorghiou AT, de Las Fuentes L, Checkley W. Lung Ultrasound Protocol and Quality Control of Image Interpretation Using an Adjudication Panel in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial. ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY 2023; 49:1194-1201. [PMID: 36801180 PMCID: PMC10631486 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2023.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Lung ultrasound (LUS) is an alternative to chest radiography to confirm a diagnosis of pneumonia. For research and disease surveillance, methods to use LUS to diagnose pneumonia are needed. METHODS In the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial, LUS was used to confirm a clinical diagnosis of severe pneumonia in infants. We developed a standardized definition of pneumonia, protocols for recruitment and training of sonographers, along with LUS image acquisition and interpretation. We use a blinded panel approach to interpretation with LUS cine-loops randomized to non-scanning sonographers with expert review. DISCUSSION We obtained 357 lung ultrasound scans: 159, 8 and 190 scans were collected in Guatemala, Peru and Rwanda, respectively. The diagnosis of primary endpoint pneumonia (PEP) required an expert tie breaker in 181 scans (39%). PEP was diagnosed in 141 scans (40%), not diagnosed in 213 (60%), with 3 scans (<1%) deemed uninterpretable. Agreement among the two blinded sonographers and the expert reader in Guatemala, Peru and Rwanda was 65%, 62% and 67%, with a prevalence-and-bias-corrected kappa of 0.30, 0.24 and 0.33, respectively. CONCLUSION Use of standardized imaging protocols, training and an adjudication panel resulted in high confidence for the diagnosis of pneumonia using LUS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne M Simkovich
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Healthcare Delivery, MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Shakir Hossen
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eric D McCollum
- Eudowood Division of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Global Program on Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ashley K Toenjes
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - John P McCracken
- Global Health Institute, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Lisa M Thompson
- Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Adly Castañaza
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Anaite Diaz
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Ghislaine Rosa
- Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Miles A Kirby
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Rachel Myers
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Patricia M Lenzen
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rachel Craik
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Shirin Jabbarzadeh
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lisa Elon
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Sarada S Garg
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Chennai, India
| | - Kalpana Balakrishnan
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Chennai, India
| | - Gurusamy Thangavel
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Chennai, India
| | - Jennifer L Peel
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Thomas F Clasen
- Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Victor G Dávila-Román
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Aris T Papageorghiou
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lisa de Las Fuentes
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - William Checkley
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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4
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Checkley W, Hossen S, Rosa G, Thompson LM, McCracken JP, Diaz-Artiga A, Balakrishnan K, Simkovich SM, Underhill LJ, Nicolaou L, Hartinger SM, Davila-Roman VG, Kirby MA, Clasen TF, Rosenthal J, Peel JL. Facing the Realities of Pragmatic Design Choices in Environmental Health Studies: Experiences from the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:3790. [PMID: 35409475 PMCID: PMC8997769 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19073790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) investigators tested a complex, non-pharmacological intervention in four low- and middle-income countries as a strategy to mitigate household air pollution and improve health outcomes across the lifespan. Intervention households received a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove, continuous fuel delivery and regular behavioral reinforcements for 18 months, whereas controls were asked to continue with usual cooking practices. While HAPIN was designed as an explanatory trial to test the efficacy of the intervention on four primary outcomes, it introduced several pragmatic aspects in its design and conduct that resemble real-life conditions. We surveyed HAPIN investigators and asked them to rank what aspects of the design and conduct they considered were more pragmatic than explanatory. Methods: We used the revised Pragmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary (PRECIS-2) to survey investigators on the degree of pragmatism in nine domains of trial design and conduct using a five-point Likert rank scale from very explanatory (1) to very pragmatic (5). We invited 103 investigators. Participants were given educational material on PRECIS-2, including presentations, papers and examples that described the use and implementation of PRECIS-2. Results: Thirty-five investigators (mean age 42 years, 51% female) participated in the survey. Overall, only 17% ranked all domains as very explanatory, with an average (±SD) rank of 3.2 ± 1.4 across domains. Fewer than 20% of investigators ranked eligibility, recruitment or setting as very explanatory. In contrast, ≥50% of investigators ranked the trial organization, delivery and adherence of the intervention and follow-up as very/rather explanatory whereas ≤17% ranked them as rather/very pragmatic. Finally, <25% of investigators ranked the relevance of outcomes to participants and analysis as very/rather explanatory whereas ≥50% ranked then as rather/very pragmatic. In-country partners were more likely to rank domains as pragmatic when compared to investigators working in central coordination (average rank 3.2 vs. 2.8, respectively; Wilcoxon rank-sum p < 0.001). Conclusion: HAPIN investigators did not consider their efficacy trial to be rather/very explanatory and reported that some aspects of the design and conduct were executed under real-world conditions; however, they also did not consider the trial to be overly pragmatic. Our analysis underscores the importance of using standardized tools such as PRECIS-2 to guide early discussions among investigators in the design of environmental health trials attempting to measure efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Checkley
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (S.H.); (L.J.U.); (L.N.)
- Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Shakir Hossen
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (S.H.); (L.J.U.); (L.N.)
- Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ghislaine Rosa
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, London WC1E 7HT, UK;
| | - Lisa M. Thompson
- Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA;
| | - John P. McCracken
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30606, USA;
| | - Anaite Diaz-Artiga
- Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City 01015, Guatemala;
| | - Kalpana Balakrishnan
- ICMR Center for Advanced Research on Air Quality, Climate and Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600116, India;
| | - Suzanne M. Simkovich
- Division of Healthcare Delivery Research, Medstar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA;
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20007, USA
| | - Lindsay J. Underhill
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (S.H.); (L.J.U.); (L.N.)
- Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Laura Nicolaou
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (S.H.); (L.J.U.); (L.N.)
- Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Stella M. Hartinger
- Latin American Center of Excellence on Climate Change and Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15102, Peru;
| | - Victor G. Davila-Roman
- Cardiovascular Imaging and Clinical Research Core Laboratory, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA;
| | - Miles A. Kirby
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Thomas F. Clasen
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA;
| | - Joshua Rosenthal
- Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;
| | - Jennifer L. Peel
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA;
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