A behavioral intervention to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution: identifying possible target behaviors
Brendon R Barnes1, Angela Mathee, Lonna B Shafritz
1Medical Research Council of South Africa, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa. bbarnes@mrc.ac.za
Abstract:
Indoor air pollution has been causally linked to acute lower respiratory infections in children younger than 5. The aim of this study was to identify target behaviors for a behavioral intervention to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution by attempting to answer two research questions: Which behaviors are protective of child respiratory health in the study context? and Which behaviors do mothers recommend to reduce their children's exposure to indoor air pollution? Observations and interviews were conducted with 67 mother-child combinations. The authors recommend that four behavioral clusters should be considered for the main intervention. These are to improve stove maintenance practices, to increase the duration that two ventilation sources are opened while a fire is burning, to reduce the time that children spend close to burning fires, and to reduce the duration of solid fuel burning.
Related Concept Videos
Operant Conditioning Intervention
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
Asthma-I: Introduction
Behavior Modification
A real-world application of operant conditioning principles is applied...
Behavior Therapy
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
Asthma I: Introduction
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...

