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• 1. [Article] Assessing the Impact of Water Filters and Improved Cook Stoves on Drinking Water Quality and Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Rwanda

  Diarrhea and respiratory infections remain the biggest killers of children under 5 years in developing countries. We conducted a 5-month household randomised controlled trial among 566 households in rural ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Assessing the Impact of Water Filters and Improved Cook Stoves on Drinking Water Quality and Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Rwanda Author: Rosa, Ghislaine, Majorin, Fiona, Boisson, Sophie, Barstow, Christina, Johnson, Michael, Kirby, Miles, Ngabo, Fidele, Thomas, Evan A., Clasen, Thomas Year: 2014 Diarrhea and respiratory infections remain the biggest killers of children under 5 years in developing countries. We conducted a 5-month household randomised controlled trial among 566 households in rural Rwanda to assess uptake, compliance and impact on environmental exposures of a combined intervention delivering high-performance water filters and improved stoves for free. Compliance was measured monthly by self-report and spot-check observations. Semicontinuous 24-h PM2.5 monitoring of the cooking area was conducted in a random subsample of 121 households to assess household air pollution, while samples of drinking water from all households were collected monthly to assess the levels of thermotolerant coliforms. Adoption was generally high, with most householders reporting the filters as their primary source of drinking water and the intervention stoves as their primary cooking stove. However, some householders continued to drink untreated water and most continued to cook on traditional stoves. The intervention was associated with a 97.5% reduction in mean fecal indicator bacteria (Williams means 0.5 vs. 20.2 TTC/100 mL, p,0.001) and a median reduction of 48% of 24-h PM2.5 concentrations in the cooking area (p = 0.005). Further studies to increase compliance should be undertaken to better inform large-scale interventions. Title: Assessing the Impact of Water Filters and Improved Cook Stoves on Drinking Water Quality and Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Rwanda Author: Rosa, Ghislaine, Majorin, Fiona, Boisson, Sophie, Barstow, Christina, Johnson, Michael, Kirby, Miles, Ngabo, Fidele, Thomas, Evan A., Clasen, Thomas Year: 2014 Diarrhea and respiratory infections remain the biggest killers of children under 5 years in developing countries. We conducted a 5-month household randomised controlled trial among 566 households in rural Rwanda to assess uptake, compliance and impact on environmental exposures of a combined intervention delivering high-performance water filters and improved stoves for free. Compliance was measured monthly by self-report and spot-check observations. Semicontinuous 24-h PM2.5 monitoring of the cooking area was conducted in a random subsample of 121 households to assess household air pollution, while samples of drinking water from all households were collected monthly to assess the levels of thermotolerant coliforms. Adoption was generally high, with most householders reporting the filters as their primary source of drinking water and the intervention stoves as their primary cooking stove. However, some householders continued to drink untreated water and most continued to cook on traditional stoves. The intervention was associated with a 97.5% reduction in mean fecal indicator bacteria (Williams means 0.5 vs. 20.2 TTC/100 mL, p,0.001) and a median reduction of 48% of 24-h PM2.5 concentrations in the cooking area (p = 0.005). Further studies to increase compliance should be undertaken to better inform large-scale interventions. Close

• 2. [Article] Study Design of a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate a Large-scale Distribution of Cook Stoves and Water Filters in Western Province, Rwanda

  Background: In Rwanda, pneumonia and diarrhea are the first and second leading causes of death, respectively, among children under five. Household air pollution (HAP) resultant from cooking indoors with ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Study Design of a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate a Large-scale Distribution of Cook Stoves and Water Filters in Western Province, Rwanda Author: Nagel, Corey L., Kirby, Miles, Zambrano, Laura D., Rosa, Ghislaine, Barstow, Christina K., Thomas, Evan A., Clasen, Thomas Year: 2016 Background: In Rwanda, pneumonia and diarrhea are the first and second leading causes of death, respectively, among children under five. Household air pollution (HAP) resultant from cooking indoors with biomass fuels on traditional stoves is a significant risk factor for pneumonia, while consumption of contaminated drinking water is a primary cause of diarrheal disease. To date, there have been no largescale effectiveness trials of programmatic efforts to provide either improved cookstoves or household water filters at scale in a low-income country. In this paper we describe the design of a clusterrandomized trial to evaluate the impact of a national-level program to distribute and promote the use of improved cookstoves and advanced water filters to the poorest quarter of households in Rwanda. Methods/Design: We randomly allocated 72 sectors (administratively defined units) in Western Province to the intervention, with the remaining 24 sectors in the province serving as controls. In the intervention sectors, roughly 100,000 households received improved cookstoves and household water filters through a government-sponsored program targeting the poorest quarter of households nationally. The primary outcome measures are the incidence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhea among children under five years of age. Over a one-year surveillance period, all cases of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhea identified by health workers in the study area will be extracted from records maintained at health facilities and by community health workers (CHW). In addition, we are conducting intensive, longitudinal data collection among a random sample of households in the study area for in-depth assessment of coverage, use, environmental exposures, and additional health measures. Discussion: Although previous research has examined the impact of providing household water treatment and improved cookstoves on child health, there have been no studies of national-level programs to deliver these interventions at scale in a developing country. The results of this study, the first RCT of a large-scale programmatic cookstove or household water filter intervention, will inform global efforts to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality from diarrheal disease and pneumonia. Title: Study Design of a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate a Large-scale Distribution of Cook Stoves and Water Filters in Western Province, Rwanda Author: Nagel, Corey L., Kirby, Miles, Zambrano, Laura D., Rosa, Ghislaine, Barstow, Christina K., Thomas, Evan A., Clasen, Thomas Year: 2016 Background: In Rwanda, pneumonia and diarrhea are the first and second leading causes of death, respectively, among children under five. Household air pollution (HAP) resultant from cooking indoors with biomass fuels on traditional stoves is a significant risk factor for pneumonia, while consumption of contaminated drinking water is a primary cause of diarrheal disease. To date, there have been no largescale effectiveness trials of programmatic efforts to provide either improved cookstoves or household water filters at scale in a low-income country. In this paper we describe the design of a clusterrandomized trial to evaluate the impact of a national-level program to distribute and promote the use of improved cookstoves and advanced water filters to the poorest quarter of households in Rwanda. Methods/Design: We randomly allocated 72 sectors (administratively defined units) in Western Province to the intervention, with the remaining 24 sectors in the province serving as controls. In the intervention sectors, roughly 100,000 households received improved cookstoves and household water filters through a government-sponsored program targeting the poorest quarter of households nationally. The primary outcome measures are the incidence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhea among children under five years of age. Over a one-year surveillance period, all cases of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhea identified by health workers in the study area will be extracted from records maintained at health facilities and by community health workers (CHW). In addition, we are conducting intensive, longitudinal data collection among a random sample of households in the study area for in-depth assessment of coverage, use, environmental exposures, and additional health measures. Discussion: Although previous research has examined the impact of providing household water treatment and improved cookstoves on child health, there have been no studies of national-level programs to deliver these interventions at scale in a developing country. The results of this study, the first RCT of a large-scale programmatic cookstove or household water filter intervention, will inform global efforts to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality from diarrheal disease and pneumonia. Close

• 3. [Article] Designing and Piloting a Program to Provide Water Filters and Improved Cookstoves in Rwanda

  Background: In environmental health interventions addressing water and indoor air quality, multiple determinants contribute to adoption. These may include technology selection, technology distribution ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Designing and Piloting a Program to Provide Water Filters and Improved Cookstoves in Rwanda Author: Barstow, Christina K., Ngabo, Fidele, Rosa, Ghislaine, Majorin, Fiona, Boisson, Sophie, Clasen, Thomas, Thomas, Evan A. Year: 2014 Background: In environmental health interventions addressing water and indoor air quality, multiple determinants contribute to adoption. These may include technology selection, technology distribution and education methods, community engagement with behavior change, and duration and magnitude of implementer engagement. In Rwanda, while the country has the fastest annual reduction in child mortality in the world, the population is still exposed to a disease burden associated with environmental health challenges. Rwanda relies both on direct donor funding and coordination of programs managed by international non-profits and health sector businesses working on these challenges. Methods and Findings: This paper describes the design, implementation and outcomes of a pilot program in 1,943 households across 15 villages in the western province of Rwanda to distribute and monitor the use of household water filters and improved cookstoves. Three key program design criteria include a.) an investment in behavior change messaging and monitoring through community health workers, b.) free distributions to encourage community-wide engagement, and c.) a private-public partnership incentivized by a business model designed to encourage ‘‘pay for performance’’. Over a 5- month period of rigorous monitoring, reported uptake was maintained at greater than 90% for both technologies, although exclusive use of the stove was reported in only 28.5% of households and reported water volume was 1.27 liters per person per day. On-going qualitative monitoring suggest maintenance of comparable adoption rates through at least 16 months after the intervention. Conclusion: High uptake and sustained adoption of a water filter and improved cookstove was measured over a five-month period with indications of continued comparable adoption 16 months after the intervention. The design attributes applied by the implementers may be sufficient in a longer term. In particular, sustained and comprehensive engagement by the program implementer is enabled by a pay-for-performance business model that rewards sustained behavior change. Title: Designing and Piloting a Program to Provide Water Filters and Improved Cookstoves in Rwanda Author: Barstow, Christina K., Ngabo, Fidele, Rosa, Ghislaine, Majorin, Fiona, Boisson, Sophie, Clasen, Thomas, Thomas, Evan A. Year: 2014 Background: In environmental health interventions addressing water and indoor air quality, multiple determinants contribute to adoption. These may include technology selection, technology distribution and education methods, community engagement with behavior change, and duration and magnitude of implementer engagement. In Rwanda, while the country has the fastest annual reduction in child mortality in the world, the population is still exposed to a disease burden associated with environmental health challenges. Rwanda relies both on direct donor funding and coordination of programs managed by international non-profits and health sector businesses working on these challenges. Methods and Findings: This paper describes the design, implementation and outcomes of a pilot program in 1,943 households across 15 villages in the western province of Rwanda to distribute and monitor the use of household water filters and improved cookstoves. Three key program design criteria include a.) an investment in behavior change messaging and monitoring through community health workers, b.) free distributions to encourage community-wide engagement, and c.) a private-public partnership incentivized by a business model designed to encourage ‘‘pay for performance’’. Over a 5- month period of rigorous monitoring, reported uptake was maintained at greater than 90% for both technologies, although exclusive use of the stove was reported in only 28.5% of households and reported water volume was 1.27 liters per person per day. On-going qualitative monitoring suggest maintenance of comparable adoption rates through at least 16 months after the intervention. Conclusion: High uptake and sustained adoption of a water filter and improved cookstove was measured over a five-month period with indications of continued comparable adoption 16 months after the intervention. The design attributes applied by the implementers may be sufficient in a longer term. In particular, sustained and comprehensive engagement by the program implementer is enabled by a pay-for-performance business model that rewards sustained behavior change. Close