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.
The HEATH measures 5 domains:
Safe Pathways
Fire Safety
Structural Integrity
Health and Wellness
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
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.
Learn how to use or download the HEATH
In this journey map, you will discover a visual guide of how the HEATH was created in collaboration with consultants and community partners.
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.