Rural Water Filtration and Health Study

NCT07818902 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 25-5791R01AI187428
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,584
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this intervention trial is to learn if the use of drinking water filters will result in improved health outcomes for people living in homes with well water and spring water in rural regions of Central Appalachia.

Conditions

Diarrhea; Enteric Pathogens; Gastrointestinal Disease; Waterborne Diseases

Keywords

Acute Gastrointestinal Illness; Central Appalachia; Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial; Diarrhea; Drinking Water Contamination; Enteric Pathogens; Intervention Trial; Point-of-Use Water Treatment; Rural Health; Spring Water; Water Filtration; Waterborne Diseases; Well Water

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Acute gastrointestinal illness incidence

  Incidence of household-level acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI), based on individual-level reported 7-day AGI. AGI case definition: reported diarrhea today and/or any day in the last seven days. Individual-level reported fever, nausea, cramps, and vomiting data will also be collected. For those with reported AGI, investigators will also ask if they had three or more loose stools in a 24-hour period.

  12 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Waterborne pathogen infections

  12 months

• E. coli or pathogens in water samples

  12 months

Study Arms (2)

Point-of-use water filter

EXPERIMENTAL

Households randomized to the treatment group will receive water filters at the beginning of the study.

Device: Water filter

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Households randomized to the control group will receive water filters after follow-up data collection is completed.

Interventions

Water filter DEVICE

Point-of-use multi-stage dispenser water filter with a membrane microfilter and a combined activated carbon and ion exchange filter

Point-of-use water filter

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Months+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Home is located in a study county in southwest Virginia or northeast Tennessee
• There is at least one adult (aged 18 or older) who regularly (\>6 months per year) resides in the household
• Household does not have utility-supplied water (and \<33% of household members regularly drink bottled water)
• Reported household income is \<80% of the county median income (based on US Department of Housing and Urban Development thresholds by household population)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: lead
• East Tennessee State University: collaborator
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: collaborator
• University of California, Berkeley: collaborator
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID): collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Diarrhea; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Waterborne Diseases

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Digestive System Diseases; Infections

Study Officials

• Alasdair Cohen, PhD

  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Kelsey Lane Warmbrod, PhD

CONTACT

540-231-1816; wlane@vt.edu

Bethesda O'Connell, DrPH

CONTACT

423-439-4816; oconnell@etsu.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 8, 2026
• First Posted: September 14, 2026
• Study Start: September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2030
• Last Updated: September 14, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09