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About Us
IAQ Tribal Partners Program
The Indoor Environments Division (IED) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Indoor Air and Radiation (ORIA) is responsible for conducting research and educating the public about indoor environmental issues, including health risks and the means by which human exposures can be reduced. IED educates the public about health risks associated with a variety of indoor environmental pollutants, including radon, secondhand smoke, indoor wood smoke, and other asthma triggers.
Native American and tribal populations are a high priority audience for targeted indoor air quality (IAQ) information. These communities bear a disproportionate burden of poor IAQ and asthma; the incidence of asthma in the Native American and tribal populations is almost double the national average. Scientific research has found a link between poor IAQ, asthma, and other adverse health effects. It is essential to increase awareness among Native American and tribal populations of the health impacts of poor IAQ, as well how to improve IAQ in their homes and communities.
In response to high asthma incidence in tribal communities and feedback from numerous tribal stakeholders, IED embarked on developing an innovative, interactive Tribal Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Web site. IED developed a two part strategy allowing tribal stakeholder groups to participate in creating an interactive, sustainable Web site. The EPA Tribal Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Web site aims to act as a primary resource for tribal-related information on indoor air quality (IAQ) and as a facilitator of peer-to-peer learning and sharing.
The following objectives have guided the development of the Tribal IAQ Web Site to date:
- Raise awareness about IAQ among tribal opinion leaders who have influence in tribal communities;
- Increase the reach and impact of IAQ outreach efforts by tribal stakeholders, leaders, and communities; and
- Facilitate communication among widely dispersed and culturally diverse tribal communities.
Every stage in the development of the Web site has been in partnership with a core group of tribal stakeholders in order to ensure the Web site meets the needs of the target audience.
The goal of these outreach efforts is to reduce the percentage of Native American/tribal adults and children age six and under exposed to indoor environmental pollutants, such as asthma triggers, secondhand smoke, radon, and indoor wood smoke.