ACM Check
Identifying potential asbestos containing materials around the home
Our Partners
Asbestos: a dangerous legacy
As in many countries, the extensive use of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in Australia has left a dangerous health legacy. An estimated one third of all Australian homes contain asbestos, and Australia has the second highest mesothelioma death rate in the world.
Curtin University and the West Australian Environmental Health Directorate wanted to make it easy for Australians to identify potential ACMs around their home. They also wanted a tool to assist in identifying rates of asbestos prevalence in the state. They engaged Reach HPI to help, and the resulting tool was an app called ACM Check.
Ethical, user-controlled data collection
During pilots and trials, mHealth apps are typically subject to ethical approval from the overseeing university. Participants provide informed consent, and understand how their data will be used. This becomes more tricky when apps are deployed for public use.
We developed an informed consent flow for ACM Check that met the requirements of the study, and enabled public users to opt into their data being used for research. Reach HPI’s mHealth expertise, and the directors’ academic background, means we are well equipped to guide partners through the specific consent requirements of mHealth projects.
From research to public dissemination
All too often, mHealth research does not transition to real world public health tools and resources, available to the public. The ACM Check project benefitted from excellent sector buy-in, and promotion by the Cancer Council, a number of local councils, and local media.
The app has now been downloaded more than 3000 times, providing valuable tools, information and advice to homeowners, the majority of whom consented to their data being used for research purposes.
Links
Elsewhere
If you’re an organisation based outside of Australia and would like to access ACM Check for evaluation purposes, contact us.
Publications and media
Identifying Asbestos-Containing Materials in Homes: Design and Development of the ACM Check Mobile Phone App
M. Govorko, L. Fritschi, J. White, A. Reid. JMIR Formative Research. 2017
Accuracy of a Mobile App to Identify Suspect Asbestos-Containing Material in Australian Residential Settings
M. Govorko, L. Fritschi, A. Reid. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. 2018.
Using a Mobile Phone App to Identify and Assess Remaining Stocks of In Situ Asbestos in Australian Residential Settings
M. Govorko, L. Fritschi, A. Reid. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019.