Paper Title: Navajo Healthy Hooghan Project: Reducing Household Air Pollution and Asthma Symptoms in Navajo Nation Children - NTU Testing

Author's name: Victoria Charley, Conrad Begay, Dr. Sundaram Arumugam, Dr. Peter Romine

Respiratory illness in children has been associated with coal/wood stove indoor heating. The Healthy Hooghan Project (HHP) is a study to determine the level of PM2.5 particles in the homes of families on the Navajo Nation who have children with asthma and who use coal/wood stove heating. An important goal is also to evaluate whether the use of a box fan filter (BFF) can reduce indoor PM2.5 exposures and improve asthma outcomes. This pilot study is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) through the University of Arizona Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center. A collaboration of Navajo Technical University (NTU), University of Arizona, University of Colorado, and University of California-Berkeley, we designed and manufactured the BFF air cleaner units at NTU and then field tested the systems to develop preliminary data for a future application to NIEHS for a definitive clinical trial to determine if BFF use can improve indoor air quality and respiratory outcomes for Diné children. I was part of the 2022 NTU summer pre-engineering program which educated students in the assembly and distribution of the BFF air cleaners. Then I continued my work and participated in the design and implementation of a digital system to track BFF use. This study was approved by the Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board (NNHRRB) and the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (IRB).

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