Short Term Impact of Stoves in Reducing Household Air Pollution and Improving Health among Rural Women: Comparison of Two Programs.

BACKGROUND: Efficient stoves reduce household air pollution (HAP) due to solid fuel use. Two stove intervention programs were evaluated and compared for short term impact on respiratory and eye symptoms, lung function, blood pressure and burns. METHODS: A total of 83 and 134 improved and 209 and 179 traditional stoves in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan, respectively, were evaluated after 3 months of implementation, during June to September, 2014. 24-hour particulate matter (<2.5 µm) (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels were measured in the kitchens in a subsample. Multivariate logistic regression and general linear model were used to determine health impact of stoves. RESULTS: PM2.5 and CO were significantly less among improved stoves kitchens. Among women in Sindh program, significant reduction occurred for cough (aRR: 0.27, CI: 0.20, 0.38), phlegm (aRR: 0.27, CI: 0.18, 0.40), shortness of breath (aRR: 0.16, CI: 0.11, 0.22), chest tightness (aRR: 0.23, CI: 0.17, 0.31), attack of asthma (aRR: 0.33, CI: 0.22, 0.49) (p<0.001), sandy eyes (aRR: 0.63, CI: 0.47, 0.97) and itching in eyes (aRR: 0.62, CI: 0.41, 0.95 (p<0.050). While in Punjab program, risk reduction for phlegm (aRR: 0.60, CI: 0.45, 0.81) and protection from burns (aRR: 0.56, CI: 0.34, 0.91) was observed. Mean peak expiratory flow was higher among improved stoves users in Sindh program (31.58, CI: 17.90, 45.25 L/min). CONCLUSION: Stove interventions can have favorable health impact among women. However, variation in health gains were noted among programs with more pronounced impact among closed kitchen users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]