Asthma and Pest Control Study: Demonstrating Return-on-Investment for In-Home Pest Control for Children With Persistent Asthma
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Asthma
In brief
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Montefiore Medical Center, with the Fund for Public Health of New York (FPHNY), DOHMH's fiscal agent, are partnering on a study to evaluate the feasibility, health outcomes and return-on-investment of a single, integrated pest management (IPM) intervention for Bronx, Harlem, and Northern Manhattan children aged 5 to 12 with persistent asthma who are living in homes with pests. By demonstrating cost effectiveness, this study could provide the basis for health insurance coverage of an IPM visit embedded in clinical treatment plans for high-risk asthma patients living with pests. Asthma is the most common childhood disease in New York City, and both prevalence and hospitalization rates are highest in high-poverty neighborhoods. The greatest individual and community-level factor associated with asthma disparities is varying exposure to triggers in the home, most notably cockroaches and mice. Asthma health care costs are significant, and prevention efforts to reduce triggers could result in improved outcomes and significant cost savings. Unlike traditional pest control, which relies on pesticides, IPM eliminates pests and prevents re-infestation by addressing housing conditions conducive to pests and with safe, targeted use of pesticides. This project targets low-income children with the potential to significantly improve their health and well-being. A total of 400 families - 400+ children which includes screened and recruited siblings - will be recruited on to the study. The study is designed to evaluate an inexpensive and scalable environmental intervention for asthma that can be replicated in other New York City neighborhoods and incorporated into any urban healthcare setting in New York State and nationwide.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT02700542
- Run by
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- People needed
- 384
- Starts
- 2014-05-21
- Expected to finish
- 2017-06-30
- Last updated by the study team
- 2019-07-17
Who can join
Age: 5 and older, up to 12. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Current residence in the Bronx, Harlem and Northern Manhattan with no plans to move within the recruitment period (3 months) outside the Bronx, Harlem or Northern Manhattan
- a. Families with plans to move within the recruitment period to another location in the Bronx, Harlem, or Northern Manhattan will be placed on list to be called at the end of the recruitment period to reassess eligibility at that time, if the sample size has not yet been achieved.
- Age: 5-12 years
- Persistent asthma or currently prescribed inhaled corticosteroids/other prevention medication
- Persistent asthma (including mild, moderate or severe), according to National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) criteria:
- i. Experiencing symptoms more than 2 days per week in past month ii. Awaking at night due to symptoms more than 2 times per month iii. Use of SABA meds (i.e., albuterol) for symptom control (not prevention) more than 2 days per week in past month iv. Any interference with daily activity v. Having exacerbations requiring oral systemic corticosteroids 2 or more time per year
- Any past-year urgent care visits for asthma:
- ED visits
- Hospitalizations
- Parent-reported pest infestation - cockroaches or mice - in the home
- Have a working phone
- Caregiver primary language of English or Spanish
You may not qualify if…
- Child living in foster care
- Current residence in shelter or other similar temporary accommodation in the Bronx, Harlem, or Northern Manhattan
Where it is running
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — New York, New York, United States
- Montefiore Medical Center — The Bronx, New York, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.