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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03513315

Heat Emergency Awareness and Treatment (HEAT)

Investigators propose an intervention trial of a comprehensive education and treatment bundle designed to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with heat-related illness for low resource settings. Two set of interventions will be developed each for emergency department and for community/home. These interventions will be developed by an internal expert group and will be customized and implemented at the home and emergency department (ED) levels, will include evidence-based educational training guidelines for ED health providers as well as educational messages targeting home and community in Karachi, Pakistan.

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Key information

Conditions

Heat Illness Heat Heat Collapse Heat Exhaustion Heat Exposure Heat Stress Disorders Heat Stroke Heat Stroke and Sunstroke Heat Syncope, Sequela Sunstroke Wounds and Injuries

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

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About this study

This study consists of a community-based and hospital-based components. The community-based study is a prospective two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial and will be implemented in 16 clusters of 1000 people located in the most central neighborhood (called "mohalla") of a Union Council. Minimum required sample size is 7120 in each group, which requires 890 subjects in each of the 16 clusters. Calculations are based on achieving 80% power to detect a difference between the group proportions of 20% from the baseline.

For the hospital component, four major hospitals will be randomized to receive operations and clinical capacity building on management of heat emergencies. The hospital sample size is limited by the availability of hospitals and their uneven distribution which are not linked to union councils in the district.

The primary outcome in the investigators' study is the frequency of emergency admissions to the hospital with all-cause mortality as a secondary outcome.

A community-based and hospital-based protocols and training materials will be developed and will serve as the intervention in this study. These will focus on education about recognizing the signs of symptoms of heat-related illness and proper response and treatment based on local resources.

Data collection will be done at baselines and post-intervention. In the community data on demographics and household characteristics will be collected. Additionally, data on deaths in households will be collected. Changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practices will be measured using a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey pre- and post-intervention.

In the hospital, data collection will focus on emergency department admissions, visits, mortality, and heat index. Changes in physician knowledge will be measures with a KAP survey pre- and post-intervention.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients presenting to the emergency departments in Karachi who present with suspected heat stroke/heat exhaustion and basic information about their presentation and treatment will be obtained in the ED for May-July.
  • Community households in "Korangi District"
  • Physicians/Nurses working in the emergency department of study hospital sites

Exclusion criteria

  • When a family refused to participate in the study

Treatment and study plan

Implementation of Community-based Home Heat Bundle

Behavioral

This community-based intervention include a set of educational materials to increase awareness about heat-related illness and prevention with the intention of reducing the incidence of heat-related and reducing mortality associated with heat-related illness. Materials used in this intervention will include posters, brochures, in-person training, and SMS messaging.

Regular Community Healthcare provision

Behavioral

The community will get regular community health workers visit without the focus community mobilization and education on heat-related illnesses.

Primary outcomes

  1. Emergency Department visits

    Time frame: 3 months

    Total number of individuals requiring visit to an emergency department during the study period

Secondary outcomes

  1. Total number of deaths (due to any cause)

    Time frame: 3 months

    Total number of deaths in the community during the study period

  2. Hospital admissions

    Time frame: 3 months

    Total number of hospital admissions due to any cause during the study period.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins University

Other

Collaborators

  • Aga Khan University
  • Aman Foundation

Registry information

Official study title

Heat Emergency Awareness and Treatment (HEAT): A Cluster Randomized Trial to Assess the Impact of a Comprehensive Intervention to Mitigate Humanitarian Crisis Due to Extreme Heat in Karachi, Pakistan

Acronym: HEAT

Important dates

Study start
2016
Primary completion
2018
Study completion
2018
First posted
May 1, 2018
Registry last updated
Jan 9, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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