HEATH


The Home Environment Assessment Tool for Hoarding (HEATH ©) was created by the Centre to assess the most important health and safety risks in hoarded environments. Risk assessment in hoarded homes is not easy. Different service providers often have different priorities when working in the home, as well as different understandings of what risk means. With this in mind, the Centre worked together with community partners such as fire inspectors, social workers, and housing providers to create the HEATH. This universal tool is designed for professionals working with hoarding in any discipline or area of community practice. 

For more information about how the HEATH was created, see our journey map.

Overview
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The HEATH measures 5 domains:

Safe Pathways

Safe Pathways

Fire Safety

Fire Safety

Structural Integrity

Structural Integrity

Health and Wellness

Health and Wellness

Sanitation

Sanitation

Each domain is made up of assessment items handpicked by providers for their importance in home safety (e.g., Hallways clear for safe passage). Unlike other similar checklist tools, the HEATH is designed to assess only the most important health and safety risks in the home, to help people with severe and persistent clutter meet most fire and building codes. This is why the HEATH also allows for the tracking of progress. After each domain is assessed, it is assigned a risk level, from low to high risk. This helps providers set goals, and track progress in targeted risk areas.

Learn how to use or download the HEATH

Why the HEATH?
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Benefits

  • Can be used by anyone entering a hoarded environment (housing inspectors, fire prevention, service providers, therapists, support workers, etc.).
  • Track progress over time.
  • Items selected by a diverse team of service providers.
  • Assesses only areas essential for safety and well-being.
Professional Resources and Training

Learn how to use or download the HEATH

Our Journey
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In this journey map, you will discover a visual guide of how the HEATH was created in collaboration with consultants and community partners.

A decorative flow chart describing the steps taken to develop the Home Environment Assessment Tool for Hoarding. Steps include: 1. Review of existing hoarding measures 2. Prototype Drafts 3. Delphi Survey 4. Pilot Testing 5. Content Validation 6. Field Trials and 7. HEATH rollout
Using the HEATH
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Terms of Use

© 2023. The HEATH has a CC BY-ND license.
It may be downloaded, copied, or shared for free, as long as no changes are made to the assessment. The HEATH is licensed for commercial use and is available for download below.

Using the HEATH

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Check back later to download the HEATH!