Providence Healthy Homes Study

The Providence Lead and Healthy Homes Programs assessed lead and other environmental and safety hazards.

Goal: NCHH was hired by the City of Providence, Rhode Island to evaluate the effectiveness of lead and other environmental and safety hazard interventions in reducing dust lead loadings and cockroach and dust mite allergen levels in two sets of dwellings, one group that received only lead interventions and a second group that received both lead and Healthy Homes interventions.  With support of a grant from Round VI of HUD's Lead Hazard Control Grant Program and a grant from HUD's Healthy Homes Initiative, a report summarizing research study findings for pre-intervention and immediate post-intervention data collection findings was completed in 2003.   

The Providence Lead and Healthy Homes Programs assessed lead and other environmental and safety hazards in enrolled dwelling units located in low-income neighborhoods in Providence,  RI. Identified lead hazards were controlled in all enrolled units, while half of enrolled units were randomly selected for treatment of other identified environmental and safety hazards (i.e., "Healthy Homes" hazards). Interventions focused on lead-based paint hazards, cockroach and dust mite allergens, moisture-generating conditions, carbon monoxide and conditions that might cause unintentional injuries.

Prior to intervention, the dwellings were visually inspected to determine their baseline physical condition. Dust samples (wipes for lead, vacuum for allergen) were collected before,immediately after, and one year after intervention and analyzed to determine dust lead loading and concentration of cockroach and mite allergens.Humidity and temperature conditions were monitored inside and outside the enrolled dwellings for a continuous period beginning before intervention and lasting up to 18 months. After obtaining written informed consent, a tenant in each occupied enrolled unit was interviewed to identify factors that may influence environmental sampling results. Data were also collected to identify the specific interventions undertaken in each enrolled dwelling, as well as the  costs of lead hazard control and Healthy Homes work.

Results: Two reports were prepared for this study, one summarizing the study results through immediate post-intervention and the other summarizing  results through one-year post-intervention. Overall, the results through immediate post-intervention showed that dust lead loadings in both groups significantly decreased after treatment; however, the reductions observed for lead-only units were not significantly different from those for L+HH units. With respect to the dust mite allergen Der f I, neither the lead-only nor the L+HH group experienced significant changes in Der f I concentrations on bare floors. The change in Der f I  carpeted floor concentrations from pre- to immediate post-intervention was only marginally significant for both treatment groups. With respect to the cockroach  allergen Bla g I, the lead-only group experienced significant changes from pre- to immediate post-intervention only on bare floors, which tended to have slight increases between pre- and immediate post-intervention. The L+HH group generally experienced no change or slight decreases from pre- to immediate post-intervention on either bare or carpeted floors; however, none of the decreases were statistically significant.

Overall, the one-year post-intervention results showed that dust lead loadings in both treatment groups remained well below pre-intervention levels; however, the reductions observed for lead-only units were not significantly different from those for L+HH units. With respect to dust mite and cockroach allergens, neither the lead-only nor the L+HH group experienced significant changes in allergen concentrations between pre- and one-year post-intervention.

For more information, please contact Jill Breysse at jbreysse@centerforhealthyhousing.org

This page last updated 11/16/05

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