Air Pollution Exposures of Bangladeshi Women from Rural and Peri-Urban Areas: Baseline Assessment for Behavior Change Communication Intervention as a Sustainable Approach

Building on prior evidence that biomass cooking drives personal air pollution in rural and peri-urban Bangladesh, we measured kitchen pollution alongside personal exposure and examined the influence of outdoor industrial and traffic emissions on personal and indoor air quality. In an mHealth based-behavior change communication (BCC) intervention study (NCT05570552), 400 women were enrolled from rural Matlab and peri-urban Araihazar in Bangladesh. We measured 24 h personal exposure to fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 ) and black carbon (BC) using personal monitors (UPAS V2), and 72–120 h PM 2.5 in 200 kitchens and outdoors of households using air quality sensors (PurpleAir Flex). Compared to clean fuel users, biomass users showed greater personal and kitchen exposure to PM 2.5 , showing good correlation between personal and indoor PM 2.5 measurements (R 2 = 0.722). Daily average personal PM 2.5 and kitchen PM 2.5 during both cooking and non-cooking periods were higher in rural than peri-urban areas. Geographic information system mapping revealed that personal PM 2.5 was inversely related to the distance of factories from households when below <300 m in both rural and urban areas. Only in Araihazar, personal BC was higher in households located near factories or roads (<200–300 m) compared to those situated further away. Higher personal BC exposure was found in peri-urban women than rural women ( p < 0.001). Higher levels of PM 2.5 and increased BC were found in rural and peri-urban households, respectively, which were located in close proximities to formal/informal factories and main roads. These findings highlight the need for sustainable household energy transitions and improved air quality management to reduce air pollution exposure in Bangladesh.