Implementation Science to Accelerate Clean Cooking for Public Health

Clean cooking has emerged as a major concern for global health and development because of the enormous burden of disease caused by traditional cookstoves and fires. The World Health Organization has developed new indoor air quality guidelines that few homes will be able to achieve without replacing traditional methods with modern clean cooking technologies, including fuels and stoves. However, decades of experience with improved stove programs indicate that the challenge of modernizing cooking in impoverished communities includes a complex, multi-sectoral set of problems that require implementation research. The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with several government agencies and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, has launched the Clean Cooking Implementation Science Network that aims to address this issue. In this article, our focus is on building a knowledge base to accelerate scale-up and sustained use of the cleanest technologies in low- and middle-income countries. Implementation science provides a variety of analytical and planning tools to enhance effectiveness of clinical and public health interventions. These tools are being integrated with a growing body of knowledge and new research projects to yield new methods, consensus tools, and an evidence base to accelerate improvements in health promised by the renewed agenda of clean cooking.Fil: Rosenthal, Joshua. National Institutes Of Health. Fogarty International Center; Estados UnidosFil: Balakrishnan, Kalpana. Sri Ramachandra University; IndiaFil: Bruce, Nigel. University of Liverpool; Reino UnidoFil: Chambers, David. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Graham, Jay. The George Washington University; Estados UnidosFil: Jack, Darby. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Kline, Lydia. National Institutes Of Health. Fogarty International Center; Estados UnidosFil: Masera, Omar Raul. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Mehta, Sumi. Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves; Estados UnidosFil: Mercado, Ilse Ruiz. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Neta, Gila. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Pattanayak, Subhrendu. University of Duke; Estados UnidosFil: Puzzolo, Elisa. Global LPG Partnership; Estados UnidosFil: Petach, Helen. U.S. Agency for International Development; Estados UnidosFil: Punturieri, Antonello. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sage, Michael. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados UnidosFil: Sturke, Rachel. National Institutes Of Health. Fogarty International Center; Estados UnidosFil: Shankar, Anita. University Johns Hopkins; Estados UnidosFil: Sherr, Kenny. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Smith, Kirk. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Yadama, Gautam. Washington University in St. Louis; Estados Unido