2016 Training for healthy homes advice

2016 Training for healthy homes advice

It might be summer now, but health workers planning their 2016 work programmes will have fresh memories of the cold damp homes and ill health their clients experienced over winter.

Coming up in Hamilton in March 2016 is the opportunity to learn more about how clients can improve the warmth, dryness and efficiency of their homes. The Certificate in Home Energy Awareness is a one day, level one course from the Home Performance Advisor programme.

This course has been particularly appreciated by the health sector. District Health Boards from the Far North to Bay of Plenty have booked staff to upskill their understanding of how houses work and how they can be made healthier.

The link between cold damp homes and health problems was highlighted in 2015 by the coroner’s finding that the poor condition of the state house was a contributing factor in a toddler’s death in Auckland.

It’s a link that’s been well established in research. Cold homes have been linked to heart and respiratory problems especially in the elderly, respiratory illnesses in children (pneumonia, asthma), rheumatic fever, colds and flu, and mental health problems. During every winter around 1600 more New Zealanders die than in other seasons – more than in other OECD countries.

Warming and drying up these cold older homes is both simple and complex. This is captured in the holistic approach of the Certificate in Home Energy Awareness which takes trainees through the conditions for a healthy home, controlling heat loss, heating, moisture control and ventilation, and keeping on top of other energy costs.

“It was a great way to provide simplified information on a variety of topics and then be able to pass that knowledge on to clients in a way that they will understand,” was the response of one previous DHB participant. “Poor housing is causing bad health; we can do something about it with this new information.”

The next Certificate in Home Energy Awareness course is 7 March 2016 in Hamilton. More information is available here: www.homeperformanceadvisor.org.nz

Contact Jo Wills, info@homeperformanceadvisor.org.nz to register (closing date 19 February 2016).

The Home Performance Advisor programme is a collaborative, not-for profit initiative by Beacon Pathway, Community Energy Network and Toimata Foundation.

ENDS

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