Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke

Household air pollution from wood smoke (WS), contributes to adverse health effects in both low- and high-income countries. However, measurement of WS exposure has been limited to expensive in-home monitoring and lengthy face-to-face interviews. This paper reports on the development and testing of a...

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Main Authors: Paula M. Meek, Sarah J. Schmiege, Akshay Sood, Hans Petersen, Rodrigo Vazquez-Guillamet, Hammad Irshad, Jacob McDonald, Yohannes Tesfaigzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022189/?tool=EBI
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author Paula M. Meek
Sarah J. Schmiege
Akshay Sood
Hans Petersen
Rodrigo Vazquez-Guillamet
Hammad Irshad
Jacob McDonald
Yohannes Tesfaigzi
author_facet Paula M. Meek
Sarah J. Schmiege
Akshay Sood
Hans Petersen
Rodrigo Vazquez-Guillamet
Hammad Irshad
Jacob McDonald
Yohannes Tesfaigzi
author_sort Paula M. Meek
collection DOAJ
description Household air pollution from wood smoke (WS), contributes to adverse health effects in both low- and high-income countries. However, measurement of WS exposure has been limited to expensive in-home monitoring and lengthy face-to-face interviews. This paper reports on the development and testing of a novel, self-report nine-item measure of WS exposure, called the Household Exposure to Wood Smoke (HEWS). A sample of 149 individuals using household wood stoves for heating from western states in the U.S., completed the HEWS during the winter months (November to March) of 2013 through 2016 with 30 subjects having in-home particle monitoring. Hard copy or online surveys were completed. Cronbach’s alpha (α), intraclass correlations (ICC), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and tests of associations were done to evaluate reliability and validity of the HEWS. Based on initial analysis, only 9 of the 12 items were retained and entered in the EFA. The EFA did not support a unitary scale as the 9 items demonstrated a 3-factor solution (WS exposure duration, proximity, and intensity) with Cronbach’s α of 0.79, 0.91, and 0.62, respectively. ICC was 0.86 of the combined items with single items ranging from 0.46 to 0.95. WS intensity was associated with symptoms and levoglucosan levels, while WS duration was associated with stove and flume maintenance. The three-dimensional HEWS demonstrated internal consistency and test-retest reliability, structural validity, and initial criterion and construct validity.
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spelling doaj.art-b02b84621dab4e33875f72c9aebeb0842023-09-03T09:20:30ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752023-01-0131Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood SmokePaula M. MeekSarah J. SchmiegeAkshay SoodHans PetersenRodrigo Vazquez-GuillametHammad IrshadJacob McDonaldYohannes TesfaigziHousehold air pollution from wood smoke (WS), contributes to adverse health effects in both low- and high-income countries. However, measurement of WS exposure has been limited to expensive in-home monitoring and lengthy face-to-face interviews. This paper reports on the development and testing of a novel, self-report nine-item measure of WS exposure, called the Household Exposure to Wood Smoke (HEWS). A sample of 149 individuals using household wood stoves for heating from western states in the U.S., completed the HEWS during the winter months (November to March) of 2013 through 2016 with 30 subjects having in-home particle monitoring. Hard copy or online surveys were completed. Cronbach’s alpha (α), intraclass correlations (ICC), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and tests of associations were done to evaluate reliability and validity of the HEWS. Based on initial analysis, only 9 of the 12 items were retained and entered in the EFA. The EFA did not support a unitary scale as the 9 items demonstrated a 3-factor solution (WS exposure duration, proximity, and intensity) with Cronbach’s α of 0.79, 0.91, and 0.62, respectively. ICC was 0.86 of the combined items with single items ranging from 0.46 to 0.95. WS intensity was associated with symptoms and levoglucosan levels, while WS duration was associated with stove and flume maintenance. The three-dimensional HEWS demonstrated internal consistency and test-retest reliability, structural validity, and initial criterion and construct validity.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022189/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Paula M. Meek
Sarah J. Schmiege
Akshay Sood
Hans Petersen
Rodrigo Vazquez-Guillamet
Hammad Irshad
Jacob McDonald
Yohannes Tesfaigzi
Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke
PLOS Global Public Health
title Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke
title_full Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke
title_fullStr Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke
title_full_unstemmed Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke
title_short Testing of a novel questionnaire of Household Exposure to Wood Smoke
title_sort testing of a novel questionnaire of household exposure to wood smoke
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022189/?tool=EBI
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