The New Hampshire Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (HHLPPP), located within the state Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, offers resources to help address the risk of lead poisoning and other health and safety issues that come from the home environment. To increase awareness of lead hazards and preventive actions, the HHLPPP developed five videos that can be shared with parents, healthcare providers, and property owners to understand the hazards associated with lead and the importance of prevention.
Why is this Project Important?
Lead exposure can cause a variety of serious health issues, including damage to the brain and nervous system. According to CDC, “No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect learning, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement.” Symptoms of lead poisoning are often difficult to detect early on. Proactively testing homes and young children for lead are both important ways to reduce the risk of lead poisoning. The HHLPPP’s video series educates the public on preventative methods to help people identify and address lead sources in homes and the importance of testing young children for elevated lead.
What Materials Were Developed?
The HHLPPP released five videos promoting practical strategies for screening homes and testing young children for potential lead exposure. Two of the videos are aimed at parents of young children and highlight the importance of having a doctor perform a lead blood level test when a child is one and two-years old. The remaining three videos provide information on how to identify potential lead hazards when looking to rent an apartment or buy a house. Guidance for renters and buyers includes topics such as where to look for lead paint and how to interpret lead-based paint disclosure forms. Each video is available in a long version (about 3 minutes) and a short version suitable for social media (about 30 seconds).
Another notable resource produced by the HHLPPP is a children’s board book, Happy Healthy Lead-Free Me!, which can be downloaded for free in multiple languages.
How Can You Learn More?
Links to the long and short versions of each video are available under “Education and Outreach Resources” on the DHHS Lead Poisoning Prevention Program’s Publications and Resources page: https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/environmental-health-and-you/lead-poisoning-prevention-program/publications-and. The children’s board book and related materials are available at https://leadfreekidsnh.org/happy-healthy-lead-free-me-resources/.