HHI Education Project Summaries

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University of Alabama at Birmingham; Alabama (2001)

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health is implementing cost-effective programs to identify and correct housing-related health and safety hazards that produce serious illnesses and injuries in children. The following agencies and organizations will have important roles in the project: UAB School of Public Health, Citizens' Lead Education and Poisoning Prevention (CLEPP), Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO), Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH), Woodlawn Family Resource Center, A World of Opportunity, YW Homes, Unified Testing Services, Inc. (UTS), and Alabama Safe Kids, Outreach, Inc.

Targeted neighborhoods in the City of Birmingham and in Jefferson County are West End, a Federally designated enterprise community, and Woodlawn. The neighborhoods in the County that will be targeted are some of the older industrial suburbs of Birmingham and include Brighton and Lipscomb. Within the targeted areas there are 34,233 total housing units, 92-percent of which were built before 1980; 30-percent were built before 1950. It is estimated that approximately 59-percent of the housing in the targeted communities have some surfaces covered with lead-based paint. According to data from screenings by the Jefferson County Department of Health, 44-percent of the total number of children who were reported to have elevated blood lead levels live in the targeted neighborhoods. Home risk assessments will provide information regarding the potential of these child safety hazards in individual homes in the target area.

UAB will partner with CLEPP and numerous other not-for-profit and local governmental agencies to develop home hazard reduction activities in individual homes in:

• three zip codes where exposure problems are great,
• homes of children with significant health problems that may have resulted from exposure to environmental agents, and
• in homes otherwise identified as posing a hazardous environment to children.

Homes will be identified by the Jefferson County Health Department and Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity through home surveys conducted by Community Interns who have been trained to assess and reduce the risks through "Basic Interventions" conducted in 150 homes. Formal training programs will be organized and presented by UAB in conjunction with CLEPP and other groups.

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California Alliance for Prevention, Healthy Homes; California (2000)

The strategy for the California Alliance for Prevention Healthy Homes Initiative is to integrate education and outreach on prevention and control of home health and safety hazards. The Alliance targets low-income families with pregnant mothers or young children with the goal of improving their health and economic well being. The key hazards that will be addressed include lead poisoning, asthma, second hand smoke, and other home environment issues.

The target areas for the proposed program are within the following 17 counties: Sacramento, Fresno, Placer, Shasta/Trinity, San Diego, Amador/Calaveras/Tuolomne, San Joaquin, Yuba, Yolo, Solano, Marin, Kern, Butte, and Los Angeles. Of the child population within the Alliance counties, 5.7 percent are affected with asthma. An estimated 200,000 to one million asthmatic children experience a worsened condition due to second hand smoke. The extent of the lead poisoning problem in the target area is relatively unknown because only one in five children in California are tested for lead poisoning.

There are two primary strategies for identifying and intervening with families – home visitation and use of family resource centers. AmeriCorps members in 15 counties will make home visits to approximately 5000 families in the target area with children aged zero to five. Through family resource centers, 250 AmeriCorps members will provide services to children and families in 17 counties. An estimated 8,000 families will receive services and/or participate in a family resource center annually.

Projected outcomes of the program include improved access to homes for detection of environmental hazards, increased referrals of families needing assistance, reduced rates of childhood lead poisoning and asthma, increased awareness and knowledge of environmental hazard dangers, and improved coordination among public and private entities.

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Children's Health Environmental Coalition Web-Based E-House; National (2000)

The Children's Health Environmental Coalition reaches parents with newborns through an education program targeting environmental hazards in the home. The program utilizes various media sources – including print, radio, TV, and the Web – to increase public awareness of housing related hazards that threaten children. The program also uses educational resources to teach parents about housing-related environmental health hazards and how to correct them.

The one-year education program has two primary deliverables:

1. A Web-based “electronic house” that utilizes advanced virtual reality software to “walk” parents from room to room, identifying household pollutants and learning about the impact of pollutants on children's health.
2. Promotional media and educational materials (including an educational video, brochures, public service announcement, and advertisements) to engage the target audience and promote usage of the “electronic house.”

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Los Angeles Healthy Homes Outreach Project; California (2000)

Focused on lead poisoning and asthma prevention among young children and pregnant women, the Los Angeles Healthy Homes Outreach Project (LAHHOP) targets a low-income, primarily Latino census tract in South Central Los Angeles that comprises approximately 20 square blocks and houses 7,200 residents. This area has been designated one of Los Angeles County's “Lead Hot Zones” and has the highest documented incidence of elevated blood levels in children under six in Los Angeles. South Central also has the highest mortality rate from asthma in the county.

The area is marked by poor housing conditions and high tenant occupancy. Ninety percent of the homes were built before 1940 and 62 percent were built between 1960 and 1978. In addition, absentee landlords own 91 percent of units and 122 of the 649 area properties have outstanding code violations.

The LAHHOP team, through an interagency, interdisciplinary approach, will address the above issues using the following methods:

• Visual inspections and risk assessments of units;
• Hazard prevention through education and outreach focused on pregnant women and children under six;
• Blood lead testing;
• Health interventions for pregnant women identified as having elevated lead blood levels;
• Education of apartment owners about maintaining health and safety standards in their buildings;
• Compliance enforcement for owners of substandard, unsafe housing;
• Training of local individuals to do intervention work; and
• Increased economic opportunities for community residents.

As part of a Healthy Homes Pilot Project, the LAHHOP team has already developed and operated a similar program for the past two years.

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