Keeping low-income homes in Dhaka cooler and safer
Official title: Understanding heat stress and adverse health outcomes in vulnerable populations in Bangladesh: Can we move the needle by designing low-cost, feasible and culturally acceptable interventions?
Funded at University of California Berkeley · NIH-11512532 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will try low-cost, culturally acceptable ways to cool indoor spaces for adults living in Dhaka's informal settlements to reduce heat stress and heart strain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Berkeley NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Berkeley, United States) |
| Project start | April 2, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $134,163 |
| NIH project number | 3R01ES035910-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11512532 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults (about 21 years or older) living in low-income informal settlements in Dhaka, especially in homes with corrugated metal roofs and no access to air conditioning.
✕Less likely to help
People who already have reliable air conditioning, do not live in Dhaka informal settlements, or are under 21 years old are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you live in a low-income household in a Dhaka informal settlement without air conditioning, researchers will measure your personal heat exposure and heart rate using wearable monitors. They will install and test simple building-level cooling changes such as roof or shading modifications to lower indoor temperatures. The team will ask participating residents about acceptability and feasibility and track whether the changes reduce indoor heat and heart rate. The goal is to find affordable, scalable fixes that fit local customs and housing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these changes could lower indoor heat, reduce heart strain, and cut heat-related illness and deaths among vulnerable adults in Dhaka.
How similar studies have gone: Building-level cooling interventions have helped reduce indoor heat in some settings, but evidence is limited for informal settlements in South Asia, so this approach is relatively new for Dhaka.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kwong, Laura Hsi — University of California Berkeley
- Study coordinator: Kwong, Laura Hsi
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Reducing harmful indoor heat in low-income homes in Dhaka
This project tests low-cost, culturally acceptable cooling changes in homes to lower heat stress and heart strain for adults living in informal settlements in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.