Reducing Childhood Respiratory Infections through Interventions in Indoor Household Air Pollution in Rural Underdeveloped Countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65539/eq9dtq45Keywords:
indoor air pollution, childhood pneumonia, acute lower respiratory infection, global health, biomass fuel, environmental healthAbstract
Introduction: Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are a major cause of mortality in young children, especially for those living in rural areas of underdeveloped nations. A major risk factor for lower respiratory infections is indoor household air pollution. A common source of this pollution in rural areas of underdeveloped nations is cooking. This review sets out to assess interventions related to cooking to see if they provide any long-term clinically important outcomes.
Methods: A literature review using PubMed in July 2019 using terms relating to childhood pneumonia and air pollution. Full-text reports for relevant studies were included in this review.
Results: Interventions for the reduction of indoor air pollution generally fell into one of three categories, i) switching from polluting fuels to cleaner fuel types, ii) alternative-cooking devices, and iii) behavioral modifications. Findings regarding the use of clean fuel over biomass fuels and alternative-cooking devices were controversial. Behavioral modifications were more consistent in findings of decreased respiratory infections.
Conclusion: It was concluded that interventions for indoor household air pollution, and in particular, behavioral modifications, have the potential to provide significant reductions in ALRI in young children. However, more research is needed to elucidate how best to enact interventions in rural areas of underdeveloped nations.
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