Document Type

Capstone Experience

Graduation Date

12-2020

Degree Name

Master of Public Health

Department

Health Promotion

First Committee Member

Melissa Tibbits, PhD

Second Committee Member

Athena Ramos, PhD, MBA, MS, CPM

Third Committee Member

Chandran Achutan, PhD, CIH

Abstract

Housing and physical health are inextricably linked. Environmental hazards such as lead poisoning, radon, and mold negatively impact the health of a home’s occupants, particularly children. Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance (OHKA) was founded in 2006 to address these environmental hazards through education and construction interventions with the mission “to improve children’s health through healthy homes.” OHKA clients are primarily served through two direct service programs and are evaluated pre- and post-intervention for changes in educational attainment, behavioral outcomes, environmental characteristics, quality of life, and health. A program evaluation was conducted to 1) determine how OHKA clients utilize environmental education post-intervention, and 2) determine areas of opportunity to refine programming to increase educational attainment, behavior change, and overall client satisfaction. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six clients from 2019 and were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify emerging themes and determine how clients utilized the in-home environmental education OHKA delivered. General experience in OHKA programming was positive and linked to both the construction intervention and in-home education received, but increased community knowledge of home hazards and general OHKA programming were consistently listed as an area for improvement. All clients reported using OHKA recommendations in their own homes post-intervention, and cited an increased quality in health post-intervention. Recommendations were given based upon the results of the interviews.

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