NCT03319927

Reducing Pesticide Exposures in Child Care Centers

Reducing Pesticide Exposures to Preschool-age Children in California Child Care Centers

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 987 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 3 Years – 75 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

A randomized control study was conducted to reduce the exposure to pesticides in child care centers. A 7-month child care health consultant-led integrated pest management (IPM) intervention was conducted in 85 child care centers serving preschool-age children in five California counties. Changes in IPM knowledge, self-efficacy, policies, IPM practices, pests, and pesticide exposure were assessed in the IPM centers and the control centers.

Detailed description

The goal of the study was to reduce children's exposure to pesticides in child care centers to improve their long-term health. A randomized-control trial in five northern California counties compared changes in director's IPM knowledge and self-efficacy, written IPM policies, IPM practices, number of pests and concentration of pesticides between child care centers assigned to an IPM intervention versus an attention control intervention on physical activity. Eighty-five child care center directors working in centers serving preschool-age children were enrolled. The child care health consultant-led intervention included an educational workshop, materials and tools, and center-specific consultation over seven months. In addition, the study included novel methods of measuring pesticide concentrations in child care centers (dust) and individual children (silicone wristbands). The study aims were to determine if an IPM intervention (1) increases child care center's director's IPM knowledge and self-efficacy, (2) improves center's IPM practices and policies, (3) reduces the number of pests present, (5) reduces pesticide exposures in child care center environments in the intervention IPM child care centers compared to the control centers.

Conditions

• Children, Only
• Risk Reduction
• Environmental Exposure

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Changes in pesticide exposure	In the IPM centers the child care health consultant reviews the IPM baseline assessments and provides 7 monthly consultation visits to decrease the centers exposure to pesticides. Pre- and post- carpet dust samples and children's individual silicone wristbands are collected to identify changes in pesticide detection limits and concentrations at the child care center-level in both the IPM and PA centers pre- and post-intervention.
BEHAVIORAL	IPM Practices	In the IPM centers, a research assistant completed the IPM Checklist which identifies the IPM practices that the center meets and doesn't meet. The child care health consultant reviews the IPM Checklist findings with the child care center director after the baseline Checklist is completed. The IPM Checklist is completed pre- and post-intervention in the IPM and PA centers. The post-intervention IPM Checklist findings are compared to the baseline IPM Checklist findings to identify changes in IPM practices in both the IPM and PA centers.
BEHAVIORAL	Educational Workshops	The IPM center directors and providers attend an IPM workshop and complete a survey to assess their knowledge of IPM practices pre- and post-workshop. The level of knowledge change is assessed by comparing the number of correct responses on the post-workshop survey compared to the pre-workshop survey.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-10-09
• Primary completion: 2024-08-01
• Completion: 2024-08-01
• First posted: 2017-10-24
• Last updated: 2026-02-17
• Results posted: 2026-02-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States