Are Randomized Trials Necessary to Advance Epidemiologic Research on Household Air Pollution? Curr Epidemiol Rep, Sept 2015.
Authors: Jennifer L. Peel & Jill Baumgartner & Gregory A. Wellenius & Maggie L. Clark & Kirk R. Smith
Nearly three billion people burn solid fuels in inefficient stoves for cooking and space heating. The resulting household air pollution is the third leading risk factor for mortality globally, responsible for an estimated 3.9 million premature deaths each year. Important gaps remain in our knowledge regarding the full characterization of diseases impacted by household air pollution as well as the health benefits associated with specific interventions.
Although policy makers and funding agencies often call for more randomized trials of interventions to reduce household air pollution, randomized trials for household air pollution are not feasible for certain health endpoints, may not provide the information that is needed for advancing policy, and may even lead to improper causal inference. A variety of study designs, both observational and randomized, may be useful if they include quantitative exposure measurements and appropriately track and measure stove use and other important confounders over time.
