Wood Smoke Interventions in Native American Populations

Rural Native American (NA) communities experience disproportionate disease burden compared to other US populations, with poor indoor air quality resulting from in-home biomass smoke exposures (residential wood stoves) a likely contributor to these health burden discrepancies. Epidemiological studies support the etiological association between indoor biomass smoke exposure and several domains of global disease burden, particularly with respect to pediatric respiratory tract infections and adult chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis. Elderly populations are particularly susceptible to chronic respiratory conditions, and declining pulmonary function is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Randomized trials in developing countries have demonstrated the impact that improved cookstove technologies have in reducing biomass smoke exposures and children's risk of acute respiratory infection. However limited knowledge is available regarding the potential improvements in NA elderly populations following wood stove interventions.

Today, a critical need exists for efficient community-based interventions aimed at promoting healthy indoor environments in at-risk communities. Financial and logistical barriers that currently exist in rural and economically disadvantaged NA communities prohibit the implementation and sustainability of many environmental health interventions. Regarding wood stoves, qualitative input from experts and Native communities underscores the need for innovative low-cost, sustainable interventions targeting the reduction of in-home biomass smoke exposures. In this proposal, investigators will test community-level and education-based household-level strategies aimed at promoting and implementing best-burn practices to improve air quality and respiratory health in at-risk elderly populations.

This proposal represents a multidisciplinary collaboration between university and tribal stakeholders from two Native American Reservations to develop, adapt, implement, and evaluate a two-level intervention to reduce exposure to indoor biomass smoke and improve respiratory health among elderly tribal members. Community-based participatory research techniques will be used to adapt intervention approaches to meet the cultural context of each participating community. At the community level, investigators will facilitate local development of tribal agency-led wood yard and distribution programs ensuring that elderly and/or persons with need have access to dry wood for heating. With community advisory guidance, investigators will use a three arm randomized placebo-controlled intervention trial to implement and assess education on best burn practices (Tx1) at the household level. This educational intervention will be evaluated against an indoor air filtration unit arm (Tx2), as well as a placebo arm (Tx3, sham air filters). Tx3 will be used in comparison with the other two treatment arms to evaluate the penetration and efficacy of the community-level fuel program. Outcomes will be evaluated with respect to changes in markers of respiratory health among elders and changes in indoor air quality (PM2.5). The investigators hypothesize that locally-designed education-based interventions, in the context of a community-based strategy focused on wood fuels, will result in efficacious and sustainable strategies for reducing personal exposures to indoor biomass smoke PM2.5 and lead to respiratory health improvements in elderly NA populations.

Specific Aims are as follows:

Aim 1. Facilitate the tribally-centered development, adaption, implementation, and evaluation of community-level wood yard and distribution programs for participating tribal households.

Aim 2. Facilitate the development, adaptation, implementation, and evaluation of household-level education strategies targeting best-burn practices (Tx1) for each participating tribal community.

Aim 3. Compare effectiveness, both within and between communities, of household-level interventions among elderly adults participating in a three-arm randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Aim 3a. Compare group changes in pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms and infections.

Aim 3b. Compare group changes in indoor and personal PM2.5 exposures.

Aim 4. Evaluate penetration, acceptance, and sustainability of community- and household-level strategies using both qualitative and quantitative data generated in collaboration with tribal community advisory boards and research participants.

Impact. The long-term goal of this project will be to reduce mortality and morbidity in NA communities from exposures related to residential home heating. This study will advance knowledge of effective interventions within two unique NA Reservations and describe improvements in sub-clinical indicators of pulmonary health in susceptible elderly populations. Reducing in-home wood smoke exposures through community level facilitation of access to proper fuels and introduction of sustainable, culturally appropriate best-burn practices will inform strategies for translation to other NA communities or similar rural and underserved populations.