South Africa IAP and behavior change | Risk Factors and Pathophysiology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Dan Campbell
The impact of health behaviour change intervention on indoor air pollution indicators in the rural North West Province, South Africa
FEBRUARY 9, 2012 · 0 COMMENTS
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa, Vol 22 No 3, August 2011
The impact of health behaviour change intervention on indoor air pollution indicators in the rural North West Province, South Africa
Brendon Barnes, et al.
The aim of this study was to evaluate a community counselling intervention on stationary levels of PM10 and carbon monoxide (CO) as well as CO measured on children younger than five. Using a quasi-experimental design, baseline data was collected in an intervention (n=36) and a control (n=38) community; the intervention was implemented in the intervention community only; and follow-up data was collected one year later amongst the same households.
Despite the fact that indoor air pollution was reduced in both communities, the intervention group performed significantly better than the control group when stratified by burning location. The net median reductions associated with the intervention were: PM10=57%, CO=31% and CO (child)=33% amongst households that burned indoor fires.
The study provides tentative evidence that a health behaviour change is associated with reductions in child indoor air pollution exposure. The intervention is relatively inexpensive and easy to replicate. However, more powerful epidemiological studies are needed to determine the impact on health outcomes.
Risk Factors and Pathophysiology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
FEBRUARY 9, 2012 · 0 COMMENTS
SUPPLEMENT TO JAPI • F E B R U A R Y 2012 • VOL. 60
Risk Factors and Pathophysiology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Bill B Brashier, Rahul Kodgule
COPD is a progressive inflammatory disease of the lung characterized by chronic bronchitis, airway thickening and emphysema. Being the third largest cause of worldwide mortality and showing a steeply rising trend in global prevalence, COPD is likely to emerge as the most important disease for the physicians to manage. Understanding the basic pathophysiology of COPD will be of great assistance in diagnosing and treating the disease in circumstances where new mechanisms, diagnostic tests and drug therapies are emerging at a rapid pace. The pathophysiology of the disease is complicated and largely undiscovered. However, with the advent of new technology and widespread advances in research the thick cloud cover over the pathophysiology of COPD is rapidly unveiling.