Healthy housing and farm life 'across the pond': my sabbatical experience. 2008 NEHA Sabbatical Exchange Ambassador England.

摘要

Environmental health practitioners, with the proper training and opportunity, can provide information and guidance for a number of healthy housing issues. In South Carolina, environmental health practitioners enter private homes for a limited number of reasons, usually for a lead-based paint issue. Environmental health practitioners in England visit private homes on a much more frequent basis, and consider a wider range of hazards during a visit. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) used in England looks at 29 possible hazards during a physical survey of the home. As a cre-dentialed Healthy Homes Specialist and a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) certified lead risk assessor, I wanted to learn more about the HHSRS. The NEHA Sabbatical Exchange Ambassador Award made it possible for me to spend most of the month of March 2009 in England, working with environmental health officers (EHOs) from several areas of the country. In addition to healthy housing, I also learned about the British scheme for training EHOs. One of the most moving aspects of my sabbatical experience was the opportunity to meet and talk with farmers who had been affected by the 2001 and 2007 outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD).