Background: Environmental hazards in the home threaten the health and well-being of millions of children annually. In northern NJ, 35% of homes were built before 1950 and many are deemed to have “severe problems”. Educating and providing tangible resources to pregnant women and families with young children about home health hazards is a vital primary prevention strategy. In 2017, the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ (PMCHNNJ) launched an initiative to disseminate Healthy Homes Toolkits to home visitation clients throughout northern NJ. The toolkit is designed to help families implement healthy home maintenance by promoting the use of environmentally friendly supplies.

Methods: Partnership staff gathered supplies needed to assemble 500 toolkits. Staff educated home visitation workers about the contents and use of the toolkits. Home visitation staff then disseminated the toolkits among their clients, provided education and administered a simple evaluation tool.

Results: 507 toolkits were disseminated by 11 home visitation programs. Of the 507 families, 200 completed an evaluation form. 48% began implementing healthier home practices. 79% felt the vinegar was the most helpful item in the toolkit, followed by the CO/fire detectors and the children’s books.

Discussion: The Healthy Homes Toolkits supported families to adopt safer home cleaning methods and prevention of home health hazards. By providing education, resources and clear instructions, families learned healthy homes techniques and were able to use the information necessary to sustain healthy homes habits.