Asthma Control Program

The Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Project

What is Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes?
The Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Coalition is a groundbreaking collaboration dedicated to reducing the burden that asthma places on families and individuals living in the Newport Housing Authority.  The Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes initiative began in 2005, when Jim Reed, Executive Director of the Newport Housing Authority, became increasingly concerned about the high asthma rates among Housing Authority residents as well as residents’ frequent use of emergency medical care. The Coalition works to address asthma through coordinated health, housing and social service responses.  It was originally comprised of the Newport Housing Authority as well as local health and social service providers, state health officials and regional organizations, including the Rhode Island Department of Health, Newport Healthy Communities Initiative - a project of East Bay Community Action Program, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, American Lung Association of Rhode Island, Asthma Regional Council of New England, Brown University, and Tohn Environmental Strategies, Inc.  Click here for more information about the Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Project in English or Spanish. 

One of the Coalition’s first actions was to develop a Healthy Housing Resolution, which the Newport Housing Authority board adopted in 2006.  The Resolution confirmed the Newport Housing Authority’s commitment at the highest levels of governance to develop and implement a program that addresses the needs of its population and reaffirms the importance of a Healthy Housing Program.

Healthy Residents, Health Homes Toolkit
The Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Coalition has developed a process for assessing community needs and developing action plans that help individuals and families address conditions that can affect asthma.   This process involves surveys, training, home visits and assessments, and action planning and follow-up.  A Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Toolkit can be used by other housing authorities interested in implementing a Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes initiative.  The tools included in the kit may be easily modified; available resources are described below.

Asthma Survey
The Newport Housing Authority, with support from Coalition members, developed and conducted a baseline survey to document asthma rates, environmental triggers, smoking rates, and access to health care services among Housing Authority residents.  Survey results helped inform further programmatic initiatives.  Click here to obtain copies of the survey instrument and to review Newport’s baseline survey results.

Healthy Homes Response Team Training
The Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Coalition established a Healthy Homes Response Team to visit housing units occupied by residents with asthma to further document environmental triggers that could be addressed, learn more about the residents’ need for health care and related services, and develop family action plans.  Click here to learn more about how the Response Team works and for sample training materials.

Assessment and Reporting Forms
The Newport Housing Authority developed an assessment form to collect baseline, 6-month and 12-month data on asthma among Housing Authority residents.  The reporting form enables Housing Authority staff to generate baseline, 6-month and 12-month summary statistics on the families reached through local Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes projects.

A Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Database
Coming soon!  The Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Database will allow housing authorities to collect information on the residents participating in the Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes project.  Data collection includes information on demographics, access to healthcare, and environmental interventions.  Data sources include the asthma survey and the assessment form. 

Acknowledgements
Funding for the Newport Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Project was provided by the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Rhode Island Parent Information Network. The Newport Housing Authority and the Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Coalition members were actively involved in the development of all project materials.

For more information about the Newport Healthy Residents, Healthy Homes Project, please contact:
Nancy Sutton, Rhode Island Department of Health, Nancy.Sutton@health.ri.gov

Otherwise, for more information on how your community is addressing asthma in public housing, contact your local health department or housing authority.