Posted: February 16th, 2017

The level of lead in children’s blood should be kept low, and one way to reduce a child’s exposure to lead is to control dust in the home

The level of lead in children’s blood should be kept low, and one way to reduce a child’s exposure to lead is to control dust in the home. Researchers at the University of Rochester studied the effects of families’ dust control on children low to mild elevations in blood lead levels. They designed an experiment in which they randomly assigned families whose children had elevated lead levels to two groups: intervention and control. The intervention group was given cleaning supplies and a demonstration of proper cleaning techniques. The control group was given a pamphlet on how to avoid lead exposure. The researchers measured lead levels in the child’s blood and in the household dust at the beginning of the study and 7 months later. Identify the population of interest. Why is it necessary to have a control group in this experiment? What were the treatments in this experiment? Is this an experiment were introducing a placebo is necessary? Explain.