Oral

An important contributor to health disparities is the fact that low income families are often forced to live in substandard housing. Hazards and risks associated with substandard housing can increase the risk of physical injuries, toxic exposures (e.g., lead, pesticides, carbon monoxide), and asthma and other illnesses triggered by exposure to environmental antigens. Children are particularly susceptible to these residential hazards. In this session, recipients of HUD’s Healthy Homes Program grants present findings from programs and research that involved structured assessments of high risk housing followed by interventions to mitigate the identified hazards and evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention strategies, including both physical and educational interventions. Information will be presented on projects in urban and rural communities in Vermont, Boston, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, that reported statistically significant improvements in children’s asthma symptoms following interventions. Other researchers will present findings from healthy homes programs and research conducted in largely Hispanic communities in Phoenix, Arizona and Commerce City, Colorado, the latter involving community-based participatory research among an immigrant, Spanish speaking community. Residential hazard patterns in these diverse communities will be presented and successful intervention strategies highlighted. Presenters will also identify successful policies to promote healthy housing, including the adoption of specific construction practices by housing rehabilitation programs, and the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by a municipal housing authority.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe differences in asthma triggers identified in rural and urban housing. 2. Identify two policies that have been adopted by governmental agencies to promote healthy housing. 3. Identify a culturally appropriate approach to inform Spanish speaking immigrant families about common residential hazards.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing