Journal Article

Ghana randomized air pollution and health study (GRAPHS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Whyatt, Robin M., Quinn, Ashlinn K., Asante, Kwaku Poku, Agyei, Oscar, Owusu-Agyei, Seth, Yawson, Abena Konadu, Ae-Ngibise, Kenneth A., Kinney, Patrick, Chillrud, Steve N., Jack, Darby W., Boamah, Ellen Abrafi, Mujtaba, Mohammed, Wylie, Blair J., Kaali, Seyram

2015

Overview

Background Household air pollution exposure is a major health risk, but validated interventions remain elusive. Methods/Design The Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS) is a cluster-randomized trial that evaluates the efficacy of clean fuels (liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG) and efficient biomass cookstoves in the Brong-Ahafo region of central Ghana. We recruit pregnant women into LPG, efficient cookstove, and control arms and track birth weight and physician-assessed severe pneumonia incidence in the first year of life. A woman is eligible to participate if she is in the first or second trimester of pregnancy and carrying a live singleton fetus, if she is the primary cook, and if she does not smoke. We hypothesize that babies born to intervention mothers will weigh more and will have fewer cases of physician-assessed severe pneumonia in the first year of life. Additionally, an extensive personal air pollution exposure monitoring effort opens the way for exposure-response analyses, which we will present alongside intention-to-treat analyses. Major funding was provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, The Thrasher Research Fund, and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. Discussion Household air pollution exposure is a major health risk that requires well-tested interventions. GRAPHS will provide important new evidence on the efficacy of both efficient biomass cookstoves and LPG, and will thus help inform health and energy policies in developing countries. Trial registration The trial was registered with clinicaltrials.gov on 13 April 2011 with the identifier NCT01335490 .

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Air pollution / Air Pollution, Indoor - adverse effects / Air Pollution, Indoor - prevention & control / Analysis / Bacterial pneumonia / Biomass / Biomedicine / Birth Weight / Care and treatment / Cooking - instrumentation / Developing countries / Energy policy / Environmental health / Equipment Design / Female / Gases / Ghana - epidemiology / Health aspects / Health Sciences / Households / Housing / Humans / Incidence / Infant / Infant, Newborn / Inhalation Exposure - adverse effects / Inhalation Exposure - prevention & control / International cooperation / Liquefied petroleum gas / Liquefied petroleum gas industry / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Outdoor air quality / Patient outcomes / Petroleum - adverse effects / Pneumonia / Pneumonia - diagnosis / Pneumonia - epidemiology / Pregnancy / Pregnant women / Research Design / Risk Factors / Statistics for Life Sciences / Study Protocol / Time Factors / Womens health