title: Integrated pest management in an urban community: a successful partnership for prevention.
abstract: Pesticides, applied in large quantities in urban communities to control cockroaches, pose potential threats to health, especially to children, who have proportionately greater exposures and unique, developmentally determined vulnerabilities. Integrated pest management (IPM) relies on nonchemical tools--cleaning of food residues, removal of potential nutrients, and sealing cracks and crevices. Least toxic pesticides are used sparingly. To evaluate IPM's effectiveness, the Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center, in partnership with two community health centers in East Harlem, New York City (NY, USA), undertook a prospective intervention trial. Families (n = 131) enrolled when mothers came to the centers for prenatal care. Household cockroach infestation was measured by glue traps at baseline and 6 months afterward. The intervention group received individually tailored IPM education, repairs, least-toxic pest control application, and supplies, with biweekly pest monitoring for 2 months and monthly for 4 months. The control group, residing in East Harlem and demographically and socioeconomically similar to the intervention group, received an injury prevention intervention. The proportion of intervention households with cockroaches declined significantly after 6 months (from 80.5 to 39.0%). Control group levels were essentially unchanged (from 78.1 to 81.3%). The cost, including repairs, of individually tailored IPM was equal to or lower than traditional chemically based pest control. These findings demonstrate that individually tailored IPM can be successful and cost-effective in an urban community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York 10029-6547, USA. barbara.brenner@mountsinai.org
authors.forename: Barbara L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Markowitz
authors.forename: Maribel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weeks
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Deych
authors.forename: Anjali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Godbold
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Landrigan
authors.forename: Gertrud
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Berkowitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D003058:Cockroaches; D004777:Environment; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D009519:New York City; D010575:Pesticides; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides