Cooling homes to reduce heat stress for low-income residents in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Official title: Heat Stress: Exposure Among Low-Income Residents in Bangladesh and Evaluation of Indoor Interventions
Run by University of California, Berkeley · NCT06979258 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will try installing cooling infrastructure and equipment in low-income Dhaka homes to see if it lowers indoor heat exposure and improves heart rate, heart rate variability, and sleep.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 1539 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of California, Berkeley Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Dhaka, Dhaka Division) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | May 12, 2025 |
| Main results expected | March 31, 2029 |
| Study ends | March 31, 2029 |
| Registry record updated | February 20, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT06979258 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal candidates are people living in corrugated-iron homes in informal urban settlements of Dhaka who plan to remain in their home during the study and who do not have air conditioning, are not pregnant, and do not have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic cardiac or respiratory disease.
✕Probably not a fit
People who already have air conditioning, who are pregnant, or who have measured hypertension, diabetes, or chronic cardiac or respiratory conditions (and households where the landlord does not permit interventions or the house is structurally unsuitable) are excluded and unlikely to benefit from this study.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
The study installs building-level cooling interventions and equipment in homes with corrugated iron roofs in informal settlements in Dhaka and monitors indoor and personal heat exposure. Investigators place sensors inside and outside houses and give participants wearable monitors to record personal temperature exposure, heart rate, heart rate variability, and sleep quality. Outcomes include changes in indoor heat, personal heat exposure, physiologic measures, and the acceptability, feasibility, and scalability of the interventions. Households must intend to remain in the home for the study period and participants with air conditioning, pregnancy, hypertension, diabetes, or chronic cardiac or respiratory disease are excluded.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If effective, these cooling interventions could reduce indoor heat exposure, lower heat-related increases in heart rate, and improve sleep and overall health for vulnerable low-income residents.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows cooling and heat-mitigation can lower heat exposure and improve some health measures, but building-level cooling interventions in low-income informal settlements in South Asia remain relatively novel and less tested.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria for the house: * House is located in an informal settlement in an urban area in Bangladesh * The house has a corrugated iron roof and corrugated iron walls * The household plans to remain in the house from Feb-Nov Exclusion Criteria for the house * There is an inhabited structure about the house * The landlord does not allow the proposed intervention Inclusion Criteria for the participant: * Lives in an eligible household Exclusion Criteria for the participant * Has access to air conditioning in their home or place of work * Reports they are pregnant * Has hypertension, as measured by study staff * Has diabetes, as measured by study staff * Self-reports cardiovascular disease / chronic cardiac condition * Self-reports respiratory disease / chronic respiratory condition
Where it's running
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International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Laura H Kwong, PhD — University of California, Berkeley
- Study coordinator: Laura H Kwong, PhD
- Email: lakwong@berkeley.edu
- Phone: +1-650-332-4667
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.