Oklahoma Advancing Indoor Environment Research (OK-AIR)
Launched in the summer of 2023, the OK-AIR project is the first large-scale study in Oklahoma to examine how different air purification strategies can improve indoor air quality in early childhood classrooms. Dr. Diane Horm and the ECEI team have partnered with Dr. Changjie Cai and colleagues at the OU Health Sciences Center to test two approaches—portable air purifiers and upper-air germicidal ultraviolet light (UV-C)—in both urban and rural Head Start programs. Dr, Jason Vogel and his lab at OU-Norman partner to conduct viral analyses. This study is the first of its kind in Oklahoma’s early care and education (ECE) settings, examining not only which approach most effectively reduces airborne particles and viruses and associated health impacts on young children and their ECE teachers, but also how teachers and administrators experience these technologies in their classrooms.
Working closely with rural and urban early childhood programs across Oklahoma, the team is using a mixed-methods design that includes a 2×2 randomized controlled trial, pairing continuous air-quality monitoring and virology testing with educator surveys and interviews. Nearly 1,000 Oklahoma early educators participated in an initial survey exploring knowledge and perceptions of environmental health. Together, these data are helping to identify which strategies are most effective, feasible, and sustainable for ECE programs.
Early results are promising - showing significant improvements in air quality and reductions in virus detection, pointing to real potential for reducing teacher and child absences, the major outcome of interest. Air purifiers significantly improved indoor air quality, reducing PM2.5 particles by 51%, and classrooms with purifiers showed 24% lower particle levels compared to control rooms. Virus detection rates also declined—from 34.4% to 15.6%—during intervention periods, even as community seasonal infection rates were rising. Teachers reported increased awareness of air quality and expressed enthusiasm for technologies that make classrooms healthier for children and staff alike.
Principal Investigators are Dr. Kate Gallagher and Dr. Changjie Cai; Project Director is Hanna Lee; and Project Staff include Dr. Diane Horm, Candice Morrow, and Stephanie Farris.
