222034 Transitioning from lead to healthy homes programming: North Carolina's perspective

Monday, November 8, 2010

Amy MacDonald, MS , UNC Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
In North Carolina, at least one of five homes is classified as substandard and/or unaffordable. Substandard housing conditions have been linked to some of the most widespread and debilitating childhood environmental health ailments in the US: lead poisoning and asthma. A conservative estimate of total costs due to substandard housing-attributable to childhood illnesses, injuries, diseases, and disabilities- among North Carolina children is nearly $95 million. Since 1995, the NC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (NC CLPPP) has contributed to a dramatic reduction (76%) in the number of children with elevated blood lead levels in the state through primary prevention strategies targeting low-income populations. The NC CLPPP, in concert with the US EPA, CDC and HUD, is building capacity to respond to other home health issues. These efforts are aimed at improving the quality of housing for at-risk North Carolinians and alleviate the cycle of childhood morbidity and mortality associated with poor environmental public health practices.

This presentation will describe the statewide healthy homes strategies utilized in both rural and urban communities, education and training for health professionals and the public, home assessments for families in low income and minority communities, and the effectiveness of resources provided for families who seek to implement low- or no-cost measures to eliminate environmental health hazards in their homes. Results will be summarized in a format this is valuable for environmental health programs at the local and state levels transitioning from lead and asthma services to provide healthy homes programming with limited healthy homes funding.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify effective strategies for building partnerships among state and local lead, asthma and home safety programs in urban and rural communities. 2. Compare home assessment tools tailored to environmental health specialists, non-public health home visitors, and asthma home visitors. 3. Analyze the effectiveness of education methods and tools.

Keywords: Lead, Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I coordinate the North Carolina Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and oversee the transition to Healthy Homes programming. I serve as the statewide educator for the NC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, and in this role, provide technical assistance to local health departments, community-based and special interest organizations, professional groups and the public.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.