Community-Based Cardiovascular Risk Reduction through Novel Air Health Behavioural Change Intervention (CARDINAL): Study Protocol

Author(s):

Adekunle Gregory Fakunle, Temilade Bello, Akintayo Olamide Ogunwale, Oyewale Morakinyo, Olubunmi Ayinde, Susan Kebu, Marvelous Adeoye, Augustine Odili, Mark Millar and Abiodun Adeoye*

Despite the well-described cardiovascular effects of exposure to air pollution, there is still limited evidence of the effectiveness of behavioural change intervention to reduce exposure to air pollution in countries like Nigeria. The aim of the CARDINAL study is to develop and implement a community-based behavioural change intervention focused on reducing exposure to air pollution and the associated CVDs risk factor reduction. The CARDINAL study is a pre-post intervention design involving a baseline assessment, a community-wide intervention assessment, and an end-of-study assessment in selected communities of Ibadan North Local Government Area, Nigeria. The study population will comprise vulnerable populations of 300 commercial transport workers, 300 women of reproductive age exposed to indoor burning of solid fuels, and 100 healthcare providers. The primary outcome will be changes in Knowledge, Attitude, and Behaviour (KAB) score on the link between air pollution and CVD, as well as air pollution exposure reduction strategies. The CARDINAL study will provide novel data that will inform public health policies to support the implementation of scalable community-based behavioural interventions to reduce exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution, thereby reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria.