title: The Breathe-Easy Home: the impact of asthma-friendly home construction on clinical outcomes and trigger exposure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the asthma-control benefit of moving into an asthma-friendly Breathe-Easy home (BEH).
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a quasi-experimental design to compare the asthma outcomes of 2 groups of low-income children and adolescents with asthma: 34 participants who moved into a BEH, and a local matched cohort of 68 participants who had received a previous asthma-control intervention. Both groups received in-home asthma education. BEHs were constructed with moisture-reduction features, enhanced ventilation systems, and materials that minimized dust and off-gassing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BEH residents' asthma-symptom-free days increased from a mean of 8.6 per 2 weeks in their old home to 12.4 after 1 year in the BEH. The proportion of BEH residents with an urgent asthma-related clinical visit in the previous 3 months decreased from 62% to 21%. BEH caretakers' quality of life increased significantly. The BEH group improved more than did the comparison group, but most differences in improvements were not significant. Exposures to mold, rodents, and moisture were reduced significantly in BEHs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children and adolescents with asthma who moved into an asthma-friendly home experienced large decreases in asthma morbidity and trigger exposure.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. ttakaro@sfu.ca
authors.forename: Tim K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Takaro
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharify
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beaudet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003252:Construction Materials; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011638:Public Housing; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D011788:Quality of Life; D014691:Ventilation; D014861:Washington