Structural Heat Adaptation and Education in Rural Setting

NCT ID: NCT06983483

Last Updated: 2026-01-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 7128 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-01-01
• Study Completion Date: 2027-12-31

Brief Summary

This study aims to understand whether simple, low-cost interventions, such as improved home cooling, practical advice, and minor home modifications, can help protect people's health and quality of life during periods of extreme heat in rural, low-income villages of Matiari, Pakistan.

Key Questions the Study Seeks to Answer:

1. Can these interventions reduce heat-related health problems such as dizziness, headaches, and heatstroke and quality of life?

2. Can they lower indoor temperatures and improve sleep quality, comfort, and daily functioning?

To answer these questions, researchers will compare communities where families receive heat-related support and information with similar communities that do not, to assess any differences in health and well-being.

What Participants Can Expect:

• Answer questions about their health, living conditions, and how they cope with heat
• Have small temperature sensors placed inside their homes
• Some participants may wear a lightweight wristband that tracks sleep and heart rate
• In selected households, cooling improvements will be made, such as adding shade, applying reflective roof paint, or enhancing airflow

Purpose:

This study seeks to identify affordable and effective strategies to help families stay safe during extreme heat, and to use these insights to support other vulnerable communities facing similar challenges.

Conditions

Heat Illness; Quality of Life

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Heat Adaptation Bundle

The Resilience and Heat Adaptation Bundle (ReHAB) consists of three components; community education and awareness, personal lifestyle and cooling behavior modification, and participatory local structural and environmental heat mitigation solutions. The behavioral and educational interventions will be delivered through community mobilization whereas structural interventions will encompass modifications in the existing structures to lower the indoor ambient temperature and reduce heat effects.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Community education and awareness, and personal lifestyle and cooling behavior modification

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

This component of the ReHAB will be achieved through community mobilization, which will encompass awareness and motivational activities throughout the intervention duration. Community groups (CGs) will be formed in each of the 11 clusters. Both male and female CGs will be formed separately and will be responsible for community mobilization activities, surveillance for primary outcome. Each CG will comprise of 6-8 members and will be a diverse group of people with varying qualifications, including local government members, local elders/elites, religious leaders, and prominent male and female members of the community. they could also name their respective CGs to enhance association, identity, and affiliation. These CGs will facilitate culturally tailored workshops, dissemination of early warnings regarding heat waves, awareness sessions, and door-to-door outreach focused on heat-health fundamentals. CGs will also maintain simple logbooks to track any incidence of heat related illness.

Participatory local structural and environmental heat mitigation solutions

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participatory local structural and environmental heat mitigation solutions will be delivered through community participatory approach where the community and project will share the cost of intervention to improve ownership. This contribution can be monetary or non-monetary, for example, provision of labor or supplies. The modifications include:

1. Paints (Solar Reflective Paints, Lime Paints)

2. Shading (Façade, Roof)

3. Energy Sufficiency (Solar Panels with complete accessories)

4. Community Shading (Plantation, Street Shading, Field Shading space)

5. Ventilation (Windows, Wind catchers)

6. External Renders

Control

The control arm will not receive any intervention.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Community education and awareness, and personal lifestyle and cooling behavior modification

This component of the ReHAB will be achieved through community mobilization, which will encompass awareness and motivational activities throughout the intervention duration. Community groups (CGs) will be formed in each of the 11 clusters. Both male and female CGs will be formed separately and will be responsible for community mobilization activities, surveillance for primary outcome. Each CG will comprise of 6-8 members and will be a diverse group of people with varying qualifications, including local government members, local elders/elites, religious leaders, and prominent male and female members of the community. they could also name their respective CGs to enhance association, identity, and affiliation. These CGs will facilitate culturally tailored workshops, dissemination of early warnings regarding heat waves, awareness sessions, and door-to-door outreach focused on heat-health fundamentals. CGs will also maintain simple logbooks to track any incidence of heat related illness.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participatory local structural and environmental heat mitigation solutions

Participatory local structural and environmental heat mitigation solutions will be delivered through community participatory approach where the community and project will share the cost of intervention to improve ownership. This contribution can be monetary or non-monetary, for example, provision of labor or supplies. The modifications include:

1. Paints (Solar Reflective Paints, Lime Paints)

2. Shading (Façade, Roof)

3. Energy Sufficiency (Solar Panels with complete accessories)

4. Community Shading (Plantation, Street Shading, Field Shading space)

5. Ventilation (Windows, Wind catchers)

6. External Renders

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

behavioral change; early warning system

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• All households within the selected clusters who provide consent.

Exclusion Criteria

• Households planning to move away from the study site within the next 6 months
• Individuals with severe mental or physical health conditions that preclude participation

• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University College, London

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Aga Khan University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Dr Jai Kumar Das

Associate Professor, Associate Director, Institute for Global Health and Development

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

jai K Das

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Institute for Global Health and Development, Aga Khan University.

Locations

Multiple locations

Matiari, , Pakistan

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Pakistan

Central Contacts

Jai K Das

Role: CONTACT

jai.das@aku.edu

+922134864717 ext. 64717

Facility Contacts

Jai Das

Role: primary

jai.das@aku.edu

+922134864717

Other Identifiers

226752/Z/22/Z

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

11559

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id