18 | May 2019
Housing is Health Care:
If we change what we live with, we will get better.
By Kevin Kennedy
A
couple of strangers carrying small suit-
cases arrive at Emma's front door. Emma
is a five-year-old with asthma and her
doctor recently gave the family a referral
to a local company that offers home envi-
ronmental assessment services. Emma's
parents were not aware of this type of ser-
vice and hadn't really known how their home might possibly be
associated with Emma's asthma episodes.
Home is where we live, eat, play, study, visit with friends
and family, celebrate holidays, rest. We all understand the
obvious — that having a safe home is essential for physical
and mental health. But we now have a much greater under-
standing how homes and indoor environments can interact
with human physiology.
The seen and unseen materials our houses are made
with, the objects and substances we use in and around
them, our routines and habits, and how we maintain our liv-
ing spaces, all determine what we are exposed to. And what
we are exposed to, in small or large doses, infrequently or
every day, can impact our health.
Over the last three decades there has been a growing
study of the relationship between the built environment and
human health. Especially indoor environments, because
during the same time period there has been an increase in
many chronic health conditions in the US and elsewhere.
Asthma now affects about 10% of the US population.
(AFAA) Around 60 million people in the US have some kind
of allergy, and 10% report some kind of chemical sensitivity.
(AFAA) While true that genetics and inheritance play a role
in these health conditions, research suggests that the rise
of their prevalence cannot be explained by genetics alone.
