ABOUT

Healthy Homes Des Moines (HHDSM) focuses on mitigating housing’s effects on asthma-impaired children. Its goal is to move upstream in asthma control—addressing environmental factors that make control harder and traditional treatments less effective. The project also builds institutional support for ensuring healthy living environments for asthma-impaired children elsewhere in Iowa by using data to make the case for the cost effectiveness of upstream interventions, securing third-party funding, adding legal recourses for tenants, and involving family support professionals in household environment improvement.

Targeted Impact

We expanded eligibility to serve kids 2-18 and also expanded geographically to serve all of Polk County. This is measured by positive changes in: the number of symptom-free days for children with asthma; the number of days that these children miss school and caregivers miss work; and secondary data metrics for asthma.

BUILD PRINCIPLES

BUILD and its communities apply bold, upstream, integrated, local, and data-driven (BUILD) approaches to improve health in communities that are adversely affected by upstream factors.

Bold

HHDSM address three major, new system change efforts to expand asthma-related housing mitigation efforts: 1) third-party payment for home remediation and health education services; 2) recourse for tenants seeking asthma-related housing mitigation by strengthening housing inspections, local ordinances, and state law; and 3) integrate Iowa’s multiple family support efforts which identify housing triggers and help families address them.

Upstream

HHDSM works upstream by pairing behavior change with improvements in the built environment. HHDSM approaches this issues farther upstream by improving housing enforcement so that asthma-impaired children do not live in unhealthy living environments in the first place.

Integrated

HHDSM is a strong, formalized partnership of housing, health, and family service organizations. The primary responsibility for creating the project’s shared vision rests with its management committee, on which partner representatives serve. Partner roles are governed by legal agreements, such as Business Associate Agreements with the three participating hospitals maintain MOUs with service partners, such as Visiting Nurse Services of Iowa.

Local

Since its launch, HHDSM has supported a grassroots style conversation to engage with and educate neighborhood residents and community leaders about the program. One example of this is using branded signs to place in the front yards of families who support and/or even benefited from the program.

Data-Driven

All partner organizations receive quarterly data to help identify project needs, assess areas for improvement, and evaluate overall project successes. Data includes: demographic information; Home Assessment surveys (pre- and post); childhood asthma control tests (pre- and post)—all helping to assess how well HHDSM’s intervention has reduced asthma symptoms and their impact.

PARTNERS

One Northside Center for Lifting Up everyBody (The CLUB)

Improving health by addressing the social determinants of individual and community well-being
New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative

Ensuring that all New Brunswick residents live in safe homes that facilitate healthy living
Avondale Children Thrive

Creating an environment in which Avondale children, ages 0-6, are able to thrive

BUILD 2.0 Sites

All Communities