RECRUITING

The Airports, Air Quality, and Asthma (AAA) Study

Description

For children with asthma, exposure to indoor air pollution increases the risk of a serious asthma exacerbation, which can be life-threatening. Interventions aimed at improving indoor air quality, including use of a portable air cleaner with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, can reduce this risk, but the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of HEPA air cleaners varies by setting. In collaboration with a community health worker (CHW) delivered asthma education program, the investigators are conducting a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of HEPA air cleaners to improve indoor air quality and child asthma health in South King County of Washington state, a vulnerable community impacted by air pollution from airports and highway traffic. Key features of the Airports, Air Quality and Asthma (AAA) design include integration of CHWs into study procedures, including CHWs recruited from community-based organizations, into multiple aspects of the trial protocol. The investigators aim to recruit up to N=60 children with asthma randomized into intervention and control groups in a 1:1 ratio, conduct baseline assessments of indoor air quality and airway health, and collect repeated assessments of air quality and airway health during the three-month intervention period and after the trial concludes. Study findings will inform future approaches to integrate HEPA air cleaners into existing CHW asthma education programs in this and similar communities.

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

For children with asthma, exposure to indoor air pollution increases the risk of a serious asthma exacerbation, which can be life-threatening. Interventions aimed at improving indoor air quality, including use of a portable air cleaner with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, can reduce this risk, but the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of HEPA air cleaners varies by setting. In collaboration with a community health worker (CHW) delivered asthma education program, the investigators are conducting a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of HEPA air cleaners to improve indoor air quality and child asthma health in South King County of Washington state, a vulnerable community impacted by air pollution from airports and highway traffic. Key features of the Airports, Air Quality and Asthma (AAA) design include integration of CHWs into study procedures, including CHWs recruited from community-based organizations, into multiple aspects of the trial protocol. The investigators aim to recruit up to N=60 children with asthma randomized into intervention and control groups in a 1:1 ratio, conduct baseline assessments of indoor air quality and airway health, and collect repeated assessments of air quality and airway health during the three-month intervention period and after the trial concludes. Study findings will inform future approaches to integrate HEPA air cleaners into existing CHW asthma education programs in this and similar communities.

The Airports, Air Quality, and Asthma (AAA) Study

The Airports, Air Quality, and Asthma (AAA) Study

Condition
Pediatric Asthma
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Seattle

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * Child is 6-12 years old with a health care provider-diagnosed asthma.
  • * Caregiver is comfortable in participating in all study activities in English (communicating with study staff by phone and completing online surveys).
  • * Caregiver is familiar with the child's daily asthma health.
  • * Residence within 10 miles of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as determined by zip code
  • * Child resides in caregiver's home at least five nights a week on a regular basis and has no plans to move in the next three months.
  • * Child has severe asthma at baseline. Severe asthma was defined in consultation with pediatric pulmonologists to be caregiver-reported asthma symptoms every day over the past 14 days and/or two or more inpatient hospitalizations for asthma in the past 12 months.
  • * Households were excluded if there were multiple individuals within the same household with asthma eligible for the King County CHW Asthma Program or had severe asthma.

Ages Eligible for Study

6 Years to 12 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

University of Washington,

Elena Austin, Sc.D., PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of Washington

Study Record Dates

2027-06-01