Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines, Iowa

Project Description

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Des Moines, Iowa, project addresses several aspects of the environment as it affects housing. IDPH is addressing issues throughout the state of Iowa by building capacity of local environmental health practitioners and by providing outreach and educational materials to Iowans.

IDPH will develop a comprehensive Healthy Housing Initiative by

providing training targeted to environmental health practitioners throughout the state on issues that affect housing.
assembling the Safe and Healthy Homes Advisory Committee, inviting representatives from IDPH, other state agencies, professional associations, academia, and the public.

Accomplishments

IDPH sponsored two sessions of the Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners course; more than 80 participants attended. As a result of the course, Iowa’s state and local environmental health staff are more competent in health issues as they relate to housing.
IDPH is coordinating with other department programs to identify housing issues in Iowa and design strategies that address fragmentation of housing services around the state.
Partnerships have been forged with other organizations, state agencies, and department staff whose programs impact housing in Iowa.

Barriers

Severe weather during the summer of 2008 impacted this initiative’s progress; however, goals going into 2009 are still on target.

What Is Next

IDPH plans to partner with county programs in 2009 to conduct pilot healthy homes projects on the county level. A focus group will be assembled in fall 2008 to develop a distribution and education plan surrounding the English and Spanish versions of the Healthy Homes, Healthy People booklet.

Links and Products

IDPH launched the Healthy Homes Initiative Web site, http://www.idph.state.ia.us/eh/healthy_homes.asp, in July 2008 to provide information to Iowans and local environmental health practitioners.
The booklet Healthy Homes, Healthy People was printed and is available for distribution. A Spanish version of the booklet will be available later this year.

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