Successful housing interventions to address asthma triggers in both urban Boston and rural Vermont

The Asthma Regional Council of New England (ARC) received a HUD Healthy Homes Grant to address the rising asthma rates in New England through two efforts: increasing the supply and demand of healthy housing through training, outreach, and policy changes; and demonstrating the benefits of tailored housing repairs/interventions for improving health outcomes and reducing environmental triggers for families with children with asthma. The program was implemented in collaboration with the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), and the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition.

Concerted training and advocacy efforts resulted in tens of thousands of housing units being built or maintained consistent with ARC's Healthy Building and Property Maintenance Guides.

BPHC and VHCB identified 94 low-income households where at least one resident had asthma. Asthma triggers were identified and tailored housing interventions to mitigate the triggers were implemented. Household demographics, triggers, interventions and costs were carefully documented.

To assess the project's effectiveness, the project team compared pre and post intervention information on both health and environmental conditions. Residents were randomly assigned to an “intervention group” and a “control group” that later received interventions. Statistically significant health improvements were demonstrated in the intervention group, at a relatively small cost. In addition, a systematic Integrated Pest Management program was implemented in a low-income elderly housing development in Boston, with impressive results in reducing pest populations and long-term cost savings. Intervention strategies, health and cost outcomes, and policy implications for the ARC project will be shared in this session.