Current Research - Pilot Study November 2004
The overall intention of this pilot study, initiated by sociologists at the University of Maryland, is to develop, test and refine a set of research methods to quantify key environmental variables (i.e. air and water pollution) that can be added in cost effective ways to larger (i.e. 40,000 HH) surveys. This pilot study (N=600 households) required the expertise of many individuals. Domestic project partners include social scientists Reeve Vanneman, Mitali Sen, and Sonal DeSai from the University of Maryland; Doug Barnes from the World Bank; and Kirk Smith and Kyra Naumoff from UC Berkeley. Project partners in India include R. Uma and team from The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and K. Balakrishnan and team from Sri Ramachandran Medical College (SRMC). The overall goals of the study are to 1) develop, test, and refine a set of research methods to measure important environmental variables that can be added in a cost effective way to larger surveys, and 2) examine the impact of poverty, social inequalities, gender, and public policy on environmental risks, particularly exposure to indoor air pollution and water borne diseases in India.

Our team at Berkeley is responsible only for the IAP monitoring component of the larger study. Specifically, this study plans to use a newly developed particle monitor (as well as other instruments) to measure particulate matter in 450 Indian households located in three geographically diverse states. These data will be used to characterize IAP (from particulate matter) in our sample households and to determine whether the monitoring equipment is appropriate for use in a planned large scale National India Household Survey. The data will also be used in conjunction with water quality and sociodemographic data collected by the University of Maryland to examine the impact of poverty, social inequalities, gender and public policies on exposure to indoor air pollution.

Except for a handful of studies, IAP consequences for mortality or acute respiratory infections (ARI) have been evaluated without physical measurements of air pollution. Instead most research has relied on questionnaire measures of fuel source. This reliance on proxy rather than physical measures may have reduced the strength of the relationships described thus far. The overall study seeks to integrate physical air pollution and questionnaire measures in ways that are cost effective. This project received funding from NIH's Health, Environment and Economic Development Program.

Naumoff K, Chowdhury Z, Edwards R, R. Uma , Vanneman R, Balakrishnan K, Smith KR. Pilot study of household particle monitoring for an Indian national survey: plans, protocols, and progress.

Jackson, Naumoff Shields what can the public health community do to prepare for coming climate change?