Asthma and Pest Control Study: Demonstrating Return-on-Investment for In-Home Pest Control for Children With Persistent Asthma

Summary

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.

Conditions

• Asthma

Interventions

OTHER

Integrated Pest Management

One-time, in-home, pest intervention for children with persistent asthma living in homes with parent-reported cockroach and/or mouse infestation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Montefiore Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Healthfirst

  collaborator OTHER

• Affinity Health Plan

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Daniel Kass, MSPH · NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

• Marina Reznik, MD, MS · Montefiore Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

5 Years

Max Age

12 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-05-21

Primary Completion

2017-06-30

Completion

2017-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations