If you would like to enroll in this study, please fill out this quick form and a team member will follow up with you by phone. Thank you for your interest in the INHALE study!
Project Goal
Our goal is to find effective ways to improve the health of children with asthma, focusing on making homes healthier!
Table of Contents
- If I say yes to the project, what do I have to do?
- Is this going to cost me money?
- What are the benefits of taking part in the study?
- What is the purpose of this study?
- What will the home assessment process be like?
- If you find a problem, what will you do about it?
- Who will fix my house?
- What is an air cleaner?
- How will you measure air quality in my home?
- Are you going to share my data?
- How might this help my child?
- Who is the research team?
FAQs
If I say yes to the project, what do I have to do?
Our team members from Case Western Reserve University and Environmental Health Watch will meet with visit your home twice to collect important data and install air cleaners and monitors. During the first visit, the team will collect dust samples using a vacuum cleaner, and will install an air cleaner and air quality monitor in your home. A member of the team will talk to you and your child about your child’s asthma and what in your home could be making their asthma worse. Other team members will inspect the house to look for mold and water damage. This first visit will take about 1 hour.
Approximately a week after this visit, a team member from Environmental Health Watch will call you to discuss what (if any) improvements are recommended for your home. These improvements will not cost you anything. About three months after the work is done, the team will come back to your house for a second visit. They will again talk to you and your child about your child’s asthma, will collect another dust sample, and uninstall the air monitor. This should take about 30 minutes.
Is this going to cost me money?
No, all the work we do on your home is completely free!
What are the benefits of taking part in the study?
You will receive an air cleaner, vacuum, mattress and pillow covers if you say yes to the study. If your home needs an intervention, then you will receive the interventions (not more than $1000/unit). You will also receive a $100 gift card for participating. You will receive $50 after the first visit and $50 after the second visit.
What is the purpose of this study?
Controlling asthma can be tough. We know that for some kids, things like mold, pests, and dust can make asthma worse. These can be hard to control, and sometimes, fixing homes can be expensive. We want to figure out whether “low-cost” or less expensive home repairs can help to improve asthma control and also examine which part of the home repair is most important so we can prioritize the cheapest and best way to help the most families.
What will the home assessment process be like?
A trained healthy homes specialist will take a close look and walk through each part of your home. at your home. They will point out potential problems that they see. They will look for things like water damage, mold, pests, flaking or old paint (which can contain lead), or anything else that might be harming you and your family. You are welcome to accompany the specialist during the walk-through.
If you find a problem, what will you do about it?
Depending on what the healthy home specialist finds, we may do things like fixing mold damaged walls, fixing leaks and downspouts that are allowing water into your home, getting rid of lead, deep cleaning of the house, or things to get rid of pests and stop them coming back. If we do find more severe problems, we may not be able to fix these, but will help you figure out the best next steps. There will not be any cost to you or your landlord for any of the work we do.
Who will fix my house?
Environmental Health Watch has trained staff who will be either performing the work themselves or working with contractors for more complicated projects. All the work done in your home will be supervised by Environmental Health Watch and inspected to make sure it is completed correctly.
What is an air cleaner?
Portable air cleaners are devices that remove pollutants, allergens and particulates from the air to improve indoor air quality. Air cleaners use filters to collect and trap contaminants and remove them from your indoor air.
How will you measure air quality in my home?
The air quality sensor measures temperature, and different air pollutants that can cause health problems. The air quality sensor does not record sound or video. We will give you a summary of the results at the end of the study, and you can also check these in “real-time” through the display on the monitor itself.
Are you going to share my data?
The data we collect in this project will only be visible to the study team and will be stored separately from any personal information about you. We will not share data with your landlord or with the housing department. If you would like a copy of the data we collected in your home to share with your child’s medical team, just let the study team know.
How might this help my child?
We hope that by doing this work, we can reduce your child’s asthma symptoms and create healthier indoor spaces. Everyone’s asthma is different, and there is a chance that your child may not benefit. Reducing contaminants and improving the indoor air quality in your home may also help your whole family.
Who is the research team?
This study is a collaboration between engineers at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Toronto, lung doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, and Environmental Health Watch. It is being led by Dr. Bridget Hegarty, an assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Hegarty studies the many ways in which microbes affect both human and environmental health. This includes many projects on understanding the connections between indoor microbes and human health. This study is being paid for by a grant from the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
For more information, please reach out to Dr. Hegarty (beh53@case.edu).