The identification of behavioural intervention opportunities to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution in rural South Africa.

Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) such as pneumonia have been linked to exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) and account for the deaths of millions of children in developing countries each year. While interventions to prevent child exposure to IAP have been characterised by technological approaches such as stove improvement programmes very little is known about the effectiveness of behavioural interventions in reducing child exposure to IAP. In response to the paucity of information in this regard the aim of this project which is divided into a number of phases is to evaluate the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention approach in reducing child exposure to IAP. The goal of this the first phase of research is to inform the design of the behavioural intervention to be implemented in subsequent phases. To do this the specific objectives of phase one are: To describe all observable practices that might have an effect on child exposure to IAP and respiratory health; To understand the factors that influence practices; and To describe how practices may differ between households that care for a child with a history of severe ALRI (hereafter high ALRI group) and households that care for a child with minimal ALRI (hereafter low ALRI group). (excerpt)