Public health initiatives to improve indoor air quality and to create healthy environment for head start children in Boston, Massachusetts

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286270
Public health initiatives to improve indoor air quality and to
create healthy environment for head start children in
Boston, Massachusetts
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Karine Martirosyan, MD, MPH , Head Start and Children's Services Department, Action for
Boston Community Development, Inc, Boston, MA
Jennifer Pawson, BA, MS, RN , Head Start and Children's Services, Action for Boston
Community Development, Inc., Boston, MA
Karen Hampanda, MPH, PhD candidate , University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO
Many public health concerns, including asthma disproportionally affect children from
disadvantaged and minority backgrounds. A large number of children enrolling in Action for
Boston Community Development (ABCD) Head Start programs are diagnosed with asthma and
other health conditions. In the 2011-2012 school year, of the 2,939 children enrolled in ABCD
Head Start programs, 548 (18.6%) were diagnosed with asthma. Head Start children have much
higher rates of asthma than the national and the MA state average. To address asthma and the
environmental health risks in Head Start children in Boston, ABCD Head Start started several
new programs. Beginning in October 2011, in partnership with the Boston Healthy Homes and
Schools Collaborative (BHHSC) ABCD Head Start is implementing the Boston Healthy Head
Start Initiative. Through this project BHHSC is helping ABCD Head Start staff and families and
building capacity to address environmental health issues. Strategies include education/training in
environmental hazards for staff and parents/caregivers; development of Children's
Environmental Health Committees; revision of central policies to improve environmental health
and dissemination of best practices to at all ABCD Head Start programs in Boston. Working
groups consisting of community partners and ABCD staff are working on health policy
development in three content areas: Tobacco Free Environments, Integrated Pest Management
and Green and Healthy cleaners and disinfectants. Through these initiatives, BHHSC has
successfully increased the capacity for ABCD Head Start staff and families to reduce
environmental hazards in Head Start facilities in underserved Boston neighborhoods and in the
homes of Head Start children.
Learning Areas:

2. Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education
Learning Objectives:
Describe environmental health initiatives at Head Start programs in Boston
Keywords: Head Start, Environmental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Health Services Director for
Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) Head Start and Children’s Services. I lead
the health programs implemented in ABCD Head Start including the environmental health
initiatives described in this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and
Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental
uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.
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