Assessing the Effect of Cool Roofs on Health Using Smartwatches in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Summary

Ambient air temperatures in Africa, have broken record highs in 2024. Solutions are needed to build heat resilience in communities and adapt to increasing heat from climate change. Sunlight-reflecting cool roof coatings may passively reduce indoor temperatures and energy use to protect home occupants from extreme heat. Occupants living in poor housing conditions- for example in informal settlements, slums, and low-socioeconomic households - are susceptible to increased heat exposure.

Heat exposure can instigate and worsen numerous physical, mental and social health conditions. The worst adverse health effects are experienced in communities that are least able to adapt to heat exposure. By reducing indoor temperatures, cool roof application may improve heart health, sleep and physical activity in household occupants.

The long-term research goal is to identify viable passive housing adaptation technologies with proven health benefits to reduce the burden of heat stress in communities affected by heat. To meet this goal, the investigators will use smartwatches to measure the effects cool roof application on heart health, sleep and physical activity in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Conditions

• Heart Rate
• All-day Steps
• Distance Walked
• Active Minutes
• Moderate-intensity Activity Minutes
• Sleep Quantity
• Time in Sleep Stages
• Awake Duration
• Sleep Score

Interventions

OTHER

Cool roof

Cool roofs are a sunlight reflecting roof coating that can reduce indoor temperature. Cool roofs have high solar reflectance (reflecting the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths of sunlight, reducing heat transfer to the surface of a roof) and high thermal emittance (radiating absorbed solar energy

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Auckland, New Zealand

  collaborator OTHER

• Heidelberg University

  collaborator OTHER

• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

  collaborator OTHER

• Rutgers University

  collaborator OTHER

• Boston University

  collaborator OTHER

• Secretaría de Educación Pública, México

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  collaborator OTHER

• Indian Institute of Public Health, India

  collaborator OTHER

• The Tindall Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Habitat for Humanity

  collaborator OTHER

• Pacific Community

  collaborator OTHER

• Labfront

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Cognifit

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Resene

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• SOPREMA

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• EPS

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Sika

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Aditi Bunker, Doctor of Phylosophy (Ph.D) · Heidelberg University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-03-20

Primary Completion

2026-03-15

Completion

2026-03-20

Countries

• Burkina Faso

Study Locations