A University-Community Partnership to Reduce Exposure to Disinfection Byproducts In Appalachia

August 24, 2026 updated by: Anna Hoover
Appalachian Kentuckians in Martin and Letcher Counties are grappling with a health-threatening drinking water crisis arising from exposures to disinfection by-products (DBPs). DBPs include trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), chlorate, and other compounds that have been associated with a variety of adverse health effects, including increased risk of bladder cancer and cardiovascular birth defects. This study implements a multi-stakeholder, multi-method approach to improve understanding of, characterize spatial and temporal variations in, and reduce exposure to DBPs in these Appalachian Kentucky counties.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Lexington, Kentucky, United States, 40536
        • Recruiting
        • University of Kentucky
        • Contact:
          • Anna Hoover, PhD
        • Contact:
          • Jason Unrine, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Located in Martin or Letcher County water districts
  • At least 18 years old
  • Able to read/speak in English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Located outside of Martin or Letcher County water districts

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Citizen Science Training
Study participants in this condition will participate in training and in-home sampling for disinfection by-products.
Other: Citizen Scientist Training Program
Citizen Scientist Training Program Participants is a three year training and in-home sampling program for disinfection byproducts. Participants will be trained and assessed based on their experience in the training program.
Other: Stakeholder Consultation Core Membership
Study participants in this condition will participate in quarterly meetings and deliberative activities of the project's Stakeholder Consultation Core.
Other: Stakeholder Consultation Core Program
Stakeholder Consultation Core Program Participants is a five year assessments where participants will participate in quarterly meetings and deliberative activities related to disinfection byproducts. Participants will be assessed based on their experience in the program.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) - Knowledge
Time Frame: Baseline, 5-years
Study participants will complete pre-/post-surveys of disinfection byproducts-related knowledge. Participants will answer 21 questions with multiple choice or fill in the blank response options that will be assessed for correctness/completeness.
Baseline, 5-years
Change in Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) - Attitudes/Behaviors
Time Frame: Baseline, 5-years
Study participants will complete pre-/post-surveys of disinfection byproducts-related attitudes. Participants will answer 9 questions related attitudes/behaviors with a five-point Likert scale, ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, where Strongly Agree indicates a greater likelihood for the behavior/more positive attitude.
Baseline, 5-years
Change in participant network density
Time Frame: Baseline, 5-years
The proportion of direct ties within the network as compared to the number of possible ties as measured by an unbounded social media analysis.
Baseline, 5-years
Change in participant centrality
Time Frame: Baseline, 5-years
The influence of each individual within the network (i.e., betweenness and degree centrality) as measured by an unbounded social media analysis.
Baseline, 5-years
Change in participant reciprocity
Time Frame: Baseline, 5-years
The number of reciprocal ties, which is the extent to which individuals within the network recognize each other as valued resources/collaborators as measured by an unbounded social media analysis.
Baseline, 5-years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Anna Hoover

Collaborators

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anna Hoover, PhD, University of Kentucky

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 25, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 25, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 10, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

December 29, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 62921
  • 1R01ES032396-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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