Indoor Air Quality Tools Inventory

Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors, mainly at home, where they may be exposed to common indoor air contaminants, including radon, pesticides, various environmental asthma triggers, VOCs, and combustion byproducts (e.g., CO and NO₂). There is the potential for increased health risks from these environmental exposures (e.g., respiratory illnesses, heart conditions, cancers) and a great potential for improving population health by addressing indoor air quality (IAQ). IAQ issues disproportionately impact low-income communities and vulnerable populations. Many communities are already taking action to improve indoor environments; others are interested in taking the first step but may need guidance on how and where to start. This section of the NCHH website is a tools inventory to support communities taking action to address IAQ concerns; by collecting and organizing these resources, we hope to maximize the impact of the available resources and enable you and your organization to focus on systems change work.

Where to Start…

To help you get started, we’ve outlined below a few possible strategies to consider as you approach how to address indoor air quality issues in your community. Each strategy heading below links to an additional page where you’ll find curated resources and tools to inform your efforts. If you would prefer to review resources by specific IAQ topics/issues (such as radon, asthma, general IAQ, et cetera), click here to view the tools inventory organized in that manner.

Developing Partnerships Across Sectors to Address IAQ
Partnering with different sectors and stakeholders, such as environmental and public health professionals, state and local government/policymakers, housing developers and providers, state and local advocacy groups, community organizations, and other related governmental agencies, could help make your efforts to address IAQ more effective and sustainable. This page contains examples of successful partnerships working to address IAQ.

Using Data to Drive Action and Metrics to Evaluate Success
Data can be a helpful tool in designing programs and services and in advocating for change. This page contains examples of data sets that can help identify significant IAQ problems and help you evaluate the impact of your program.

Learning from Existing IAQ Policies, Programs, Legislation, and Services
Reflecting and analyzing existing policies and programs can be helpful when deciding what would be the best programs and services for your community. The programs and policies included on this page include a variety of approaches that can offer ideas and guidance for IAQ efforts.

Building IAQ Workforce Capacity Through Training and Educational Resources 
Equipping your workforce with the education, skills, and tools they need to address IAQ is critical. This page contains examples of guides, training, and educational materials for different stakeholder groups.

Studying Best Practices in IAQ Interventions, Policies, and Services to Improve the Home Environment
The resources on this page can help you build evidence-based interventions and understand what has worked well in addressing IAQ in other communities.

Engaging and Empowering Residents and Community Members to Address IAQ Concerns
On average, Americans spend most of their time indoors, and vulnerable populations tend to spend even more time indoors. It’s important to empower people to recognize IAQ issues in their own homes and provide them with knowledge and tools to improve their home’s safety. This page contains resources that can be utilized to educate and empower communities to take action to address IAQ.

Developing Financing and Funding Strategies for IAQ Programs and Services 
A common barrier to meaningful and sustainable IAQ interventions is funding. Funding can come from a variety of sources, and often the most successful programs have diversified streams of support. This page contains resources to display examples of successful financing strategies in IAQ programs.

Educating Stakeholders About Opportunities to Act on Improving IAQ 
A large piece of making change in IAQ is educating stakeholders and decisionmakers within political, economic, and social institutions on potential opportunities. Whether you’re trying to address IAQ at the local, state, or federal level, this page offers several tools and resources to help build consensus and identify policies to improve IAQ.

 

Latest page update: October 9, 2023.