Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Mae Bradley, Executive Director, Committee for Boston Public Housing, 100 Terrace Street, Suite B, Roxbury, MA 02120, (617) 427-3556, margaret_reid@bphc.org, Laura Bradeen, West Broadway Task Force, Inc., 135 Orton Marotta Way, #5036, South Boston, MA 02127, Margaret Reid, Boston Public Health Commission, 1010 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02118, and H. Patricia Hynes, MS, MA, School of Public Health, Boston University, 715 Albany St., Talbot 2 East, Boston, MA 02118.

The Healthy Public Housing Initiative is a partnership of the Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health, Tufts Department of Family Medicine, city agencies including Boston Housing Authority and Boston Public Health Commission, tenant organizations including Committee for Boston Public Housing (CBPH) and West Broadway Tenants Task Force (WBTTF), with energy and housing partners.

The HPHI collaboration was designed to gain knowledge about environmental conditions in public housing and to develop and implement interventions to improve the health of public housing residents, particularly children with asthma. Pest infestation is a significant concern for both residents and housing administrators. Community health advocates collected data and provided in home assessment and education on pest control strategies.

To gather information on pest control practices and pesticide use among public housing residents, CBPH and WBTTF conducted focus groups in multiple languages reflecting the diversity of the public housing residents. We will present the results of focus groups, including the extent of pest problems, resident pest control practices, and resident interest in a safe pest control program.

Learning Objectives: