Portable sanitation system to improve home water use and quality of life
Evaluation of the Portable Alternative Sanitation System (PASS) on In-Home Water Use and Quality of Life
This project will test a portable sanitation system (PASS) in Alaska Native homes to see if it helps with water use, hygiene, and household well-being.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Anchorage, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11141107 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From your perspective, researchers will place the PASS unit in homes that lack indoor plumbing and follow households over time to track water use, waste management, and health. They will collect biomedical data (like respiratory and skin infection rates) alongside locally defined measures of well-being and daily life. The team will work with community members to ensure methods are culturally appropriate and compare changes over several years. Results will be used to see whether the PASS option can reduce infections and improve living conditions in remote Alaska Native communities.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are Alaska Native households living in rural or remote areas without reliable in-home piped water and sanitation, including families with children and elders.
Not a fit: Households that already have adequate indoor plumbing or those living outside the targeted Alaska Native communities are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the PASS could reduce water-washed infections and improve hygiene and quality of life for households without indoor plumbing.
How similar studies have performed: Past work found infection rates dropped after installing in-home water services in some communities, but portable sanitation solutions like PASS are newer and less well tested.
Where this research is happening
Anchorage, United States
- Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium — Anchorage, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Eichelberger, Laura P — Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
- Study coordinator: Eichelberger, Laura P
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 below.