5018.0: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - Board 9

Abstract #20897

Successful stakeholder Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools training model

Laura S. Kolb, MPH, Indoor Environments Division, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Mailcode: 6609J, Washington, DC 20460 and Natanya Alon, MPH, Environmental Health, National Association of County and City Health Officials, 1100 17th Street, NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC 22036, 202-783-5550, ext. 241, talon@naccho.org.

Recognizing the need to create lasting, long term IAQ improvements in schools, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indoor Environments Division to train school and health officials using an innovative approach to training/teaching stakeholders about the IAQ Tools for Schools (TfS) Program. NACCHO’s statewide IAQ TfS trainings are planned by a committee of stakeholders from across the state including local and state school and public health officials and representatives of organizations such as the American Lung Association. The statewide planning committee identifies each state’s unique IAQ training needs and builds partnerships among health and school officials who make decisions about IAQ management and budgeting. In this way each training is custom tailored to local needs and situations. Schools that implement IAQ TfS can prevent future IAQ problems and identify practical and low-cost/no-cost solutions to fixing current IAQ problems.

NACCHO conducts extensive training evaluations to quantify specific, sustainable IAQ actions fostered by the trainings. Since 1997, more than 110 schools have fully implemented the IAQ TfS Program as a result of the trainings, and more than 757 schools have completed one or more program activities. The schools that have implemented the IAQ TfS Program are now better equipped to prevent, identify, and manage IAQ issues. This session will describe the model in more detail and the results of NACCHO’s implementation of the model.

See www.naccho.org/project36.htm

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the participant will be able to describe the components of a successful stakeholders Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools training model.

Keywords: Air Quality, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Environmental Protection Agency's IAQ Tools for Schools Kit.
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.

The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA