Healthy homes: In-home environmental asthma intervention in a diverse urban community

D.A. Turcotte, H. Alker, E. Chaves, R. Gore and S. Woskie

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue 4, 665-671

Abstract: Objectives. We evaluated health outcomes associated with in-home interventions in low-income urban households with children with asthma. Methods. A comprehensive health and environmental assessment and subsequent intervention were completed in 116 households with 170 enrolled children with asthma. Home health workers provided household safety, asthma prevention education, and targeted environmental intervention to decrease asthma triggers and improve household safety. We collected environmental data with questionnaire and dust samples and health information with a questionnaire incorporating the American Academy of Pediatrics Children's Health Survey for Asthma and other instruments at baseline and at follow-up 11 to 12 months later to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the health of the child and family in Lowell, Massachusetts, from September 2009 to January 2012. Results. The diverse study population of low-income children showed a statistically significant health improvement from baseline to follow-up. The cost of the interventions (not including personnel) was $36 240, whereas the estimated medical savings over a 4-week assessment period was $71 162, resulting in an estimated annual savings of about $821 304. Conclusions. Low-cost, multicomponent interventions decrease all measures of asthma severity and health care utilization in a diverse population of urban children.

Keywords: article; asthma; child; cost benefit analysis; economics; environmental exposure; female; health care cost; health education; health promotion; housing; human; male; methodology; questionnaire; safety; standard; United States; urban population, Asthma; Child; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Environmental Exposure; Female; Health Care Costs; Health Education; Health Promotion; Housing; Humans; Male; Massachusetts; Questionnaires; Safety; Urban Population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301695

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2013.301695_2

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301695

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().