Session 1003 - A Pilot Community Health Worker and Healthy Homes Evaluator Collaboration to Improve Asthma & COPD - Larry Zarker

IAQ & Energy 2019 Conference, Session 1003: BPI launched the Healthy Home Evaluator (HHE) certification in 2013. In 2016, Pierce County Weatherization partnered with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to create a Healthy Homes pilot program. The pilot explored cross-sector collaboration to integrate healthy homes measures and health education into low-income weatherization services. Asthma Community Health Workers (CHWs) provided asthma and COPD education, environmental trigger assessment, and support for behavioral changes. The WAP HHEs provided healthy home assessments and improvements. The pilot served 53 households and 78 persons with respiratory conditions. Some received comprehensive weatherization and healthy homes measures and others received only educational visits and low-cost measures. This session focuses on the evaluation of respiratory health outcomes from the pilot and outlines the unique contributions of CHWs and HHEs in improving asthma and COPD control and quality of life.