NCT06982339Recruiting
Beat the Heat Boston
Beat the Heat: Impacts of Heat on Health in Boston and Strategies to Address Them
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 22 Jan 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
The goal of this stepped wedge trial is to assess the practical effects of air conditioners on hot weather impacts among older adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: How does the presence of an air conditioning unit affect heat stress, heat strain, mental health, and healthcare utilization among older adults who did not previously have access to air conditioning? How, and in what conditioners, do older adults use air conditioning once it is installed in their home? Researchers will compare participants in arms with (A) and without (B) air conditioning units in the first summer season; this will allow them to assess the effect of air conditioners. In the second summer season, both arms will have air conditioning units, but those in the year two distribution arm (B) will receive an electricity subsidy, while those in the year one AC distribution arm (A) will not, allowing researchers to assess the effect of an electricity subsidy. Participants will be randomized to receive an air conditioner and financial support for electricity costs in either the first summer season or the second summer season of the study. * Heat stress, heat strain, mental health, and healthcare utilization will be assessed via participant survey. * Air conditioner utilization will be assessed via continuous load monitoring devices. * Indoor air temperature will be assessed via continuous data loggers.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 100 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 13 May 2025
- Start date
- 19 May 2025
- Primary completion date
- 15 Oct 2026
- Lead sponsor
- Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
- Diseases
- Stroke
- NCT number
- NCT06982339
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 100
- From 19 May 2025 to the primary completion date, 15 Oct 2026
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Other
- \- Lack a location in their home suitable for installation of the AC unit provided during the research study.
Who the study is looking for
- reside in Roxbury, Dorchester, East Boston or Mattapan MA
- age 55-95 years old
- speak English or Spanish
- do not have air conditioning in the home
- living with at least one of the following conditions: chronic CVD (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, history of stroke or myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, or heart failure), chronic pulmonary disease (asthma, COPD/emphysema, interstitial lung disease), chronic neurologic disease (stroke, Parkinson's disease, or other chronic neurologic conditions), chronic mental health conditions (including anxiety disorder, major depression, bipolar disorder), and/or history of hospitalization (defined as spending at least one night in the hospital) for any reason within the past three years.
Age in the registry: 55 years to 95 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Boston | United States | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.