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Healthy Homes, Better Outcomes
While we are all staying home right now to stay healthy, what if it's your home that's unhealthy?
HousingNOLA has been working with the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative to implement a Healthy Homes Pilot Program in New Orleans.
The program will help to improve housing circumstances for our most vulnerable residents who are susceptible to illnesses caused by poor environmental and substandard living conditions, particularly, the elderly, youth, and the chronically ill. Energy efficiency can support good physical and mental health, primarily by creating healthy indoor living environments with healthy air temperatures, humidity levels, and improved air quality. Programs that improve insulation, heating, and ventilation systems can have positive impacts on air quality, reducing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and allergies.
Dr. Felicia Rabito, our Healthy Homes Partner with the Tulane Department of Epidemiology, is currently working on an “Allergen Reduction and Child Health Study.” Despite overall advances in improving childhood asthma outcomes, asthma morbidity remains high among children in race/ethnic minority groups and those living in poverty due to a greater exposure allergens. Exposure to cockroaches, dust mites, pet dander, and mold are known to worsen asthma.
The overall goal of the study is to improve patient-centered asthma outcomes by targeting one key allergen, cockroach exposure in the child’s home. If you know a family that might be interested in participating in the study or you want more information, you can reach out to Derek Werthmann, the research coordinator for the study, at dwerthma@tulane.edu
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