The Home environment questionnaire and home inspection checklist is a tool used to assess home characteristics, cleaning practices and home allergen exposure in the homes of children with asthma.
The questionnaire evaluates general home characteristics including the age of the home, number of rooms, household cleaning routines, exposure to household pets and exposure to farm animals. The home inspection checklist assesses structural factors such as primary sources of heat and air, evidence of smoke, moisture leaks, overflowing trash, exposed food, mildew, evidence of pests, carpeting and the presence of allergy-proof bed covers.
Structured face-to-face interviews are conducted with caregivers in the home who are responsible for the child’s health. During home visits, the subsequent home inspection checklist is completed by a trained technician.
Health status and risk factors Respiratory conditions
Age group Children
Assessor Trained assessor
Self-administered No
Multi-component No
Indicators Exposure to animals; physical structure; heating; air quality; smoke; moisture; waste; allergy-proofing
Authors Coleman, A.T., Rettiganti, M., Bai, S., Brown, R.H., Perry, T.T.
Organizations Asthma in the Delta Region of Arkansas research team
Coleman, A. T., Rettiganti, M., Bai, S., Brown, R. H., & Perry, T. T. (2014). Mouse and cockroach exposure in rural Arkansas Delta region homes. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 112(3), 256EP-260. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2014.01.002