Breathe Easy at Home: A web based referral system for housing code enforcement and housing improvement for families with asthma

Asthma is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and missed school days for children. Many environmental conditions, such as pest infestations and mold, are housing code violations and have been linked with worse asthma. In Boston, pest infestation is ubiquitous in public and subsidized urban multifamily housing.

The Breathe Easy at Home program was begun in 2005 and created a web based referral system for pediatricians to refer families for housing code inspections directly from their office when housing conditions are suspected to make asthma worse. Pediatricians and lawyers from Boston Medical Center and Medical Legal Partnership for Children partnered with a local community health center, Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, the Boston Public Heath Commission and Boston Inspectional Services Department to create a website linking pediatric offices with the Inspectional Services Department.

The system allows clinicians to track the progress a request for a housing code inspection through the system. It affords specific notification to the referring clinician that an action, such as scheduling an inspection, has been completed. In the past, a request for an inspection would be made, but the referring clinician would often never learn the outcome. This system motivates clinician to report housing code violations that affect asthma.