Promoting Environments that Advance Children's Health in Rural Communities

There are data gaps around efficacy of healthy home intervention programs, and barriers to their effectiveness in rural communities. The Promoting Environments that Advance Children's Health (PEACH) is an innovative, multiple best practice strategy to identify barriers and assets to implementing a healthy homes intervention in rural communities, and improve child and family functioning, quality of life, biologic status and health outcomes for asthma by reducing residential health hazards and understanding the connections between the environment and health. The PEACH Pilot Program has 3 aims: (1) Document the extent of residential home hazards in homes of asthmatic children compared to a control group; (2) Document chronic disease and overall health status of children participating in program; (3) Identify potential barriers and assets to implementing rural healthy housing programs. A randomized control trial was used to designate participants into intervention and control groups. Intervention included home health hazard assessments, quantitative in-home environmental hazard exposure measurements, documentation of chronic disease and health status of participants, and key informant interviews around community barriers and assets to such programs. Formative and outcome evaluation methods will be used including quantitative and qualitative data collection. This study is currently underway. Data will be available in September. We conclude that the extent of presence of indoor environmental health hazards in rural households with asthmatic children will be reduced compared to control group; and public health professionals will have an increased understanding of barriers and assets to establishing Healthy Homes programs in rural communities.