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Get the Lead Out

"Get the Lead Out" is a community-based project that aims to assess the effectiveness of a lead poisoning prevention program for families with young children who have low levels of lead exposure.  

Research Overview

The Intervention tests the effectiveness of basic knowledge of lead risks and prevention tactics, cleaning kits (including vacuums with HEPA filters), and professional home risk assessments in helping families to reduce their children's risk for lead exposure in the home. The study aims to recruit 120 families: 90 to participate in the intervention study, and 30 to complete the initial interview as a comparison group of at-risk families whose children do not currently show moderate lead levels. Subjects will be recruited from a sample of families whose children have received blood lead tests performed at Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Head Start.  These routine, minimally invasive blood tests are administered to all children involved with these programs. The project will target families whose children have blood lead levels between 3 and 9.99 micrograms per deciliter. These levels have been associated with developmental difficulties in young children, though do not put children at high risk and are too low to qualify families for government intervention programs.

Funded By

Ganey Community-Based Research Mini-Grants; South Bend Housing Authority and Urban Development Lead Hazard Control Grant; The New York Community Trust's Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation Greentree Environmental Services and Riccar vacuums

Age Group

  • Adults
  • Infants
  • Middle Childhood
  • Preschooler
  • Toddlers
  • Young Adults

Investigators

  • John Borkowski, Ph.D. 
  • Jody Nicholson, M.A.

Research Themes