The Importance of Positive Interaction within Assistance Work in Appalachia

Central Appalachia experiences disproportionate rates of poverty. Historical exploitation has resulted in a lack of trust in others. Appalachia Service Project (ASP) utilizes interpersonal interactions as a way to market their free home repair services to a hesitant region. This study is an extension of a qualitative project about the link between housing repairs and health. The purpose is to highlight the impact that positive interaction with ASP has on willingness to receive assistance through service organizations in rural East Tennessee. Twenty-eight phone interviews were recorded through Zoom and thematic analysis was done using NVivo software. Twenty-four (86%) of those interviewed increased in their willingness to receive assistance based on their positive experience. Themes included being treated with dignity and respect, quality time, the intergenerational interface, reciprocity, and being spiritually uplifted. Further research is suggested regarding the affect religious communities, honor culture, rurality, and industrial ties have on willingness to receive assistance

They Built My Soul: A Qualitative Analysis of the Impacts of Home Repairs in Rural Tennessee

Background: Housing is an important social determinant of health and substandard housing is linked to physical, mental, and social health problems. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to qualitatively assess the impacts of repairs to substandard housing in rural East Tennessee through twenty-eight interviews. Methods: Zoom was utilized for recording phone interviews in January– February 2021 and NVivo software was used for thematic analysis in May–July 2021. Results: Themes that emerged included environmental risk reduction, impacts on physical health, impacts on mental health, impacts on financial well-being, and willingness to receive future assistance from service organizations. Implications: Further research is recommended to quantify impacts including effects on utilization of health care and community services, school and work attendance, and mental health impacts

Healthy Homes: Warmer, Safer, Drier Equals Healthier

Housing and health care are more closely related than ever before. To address this issue head-on, Ballad Health, Appalachia Service Project, and East Tennessee State University\u27s College of Public Health created a regional partnership to research and provide a more holistic and effective approach to healthcare by meeting the housing needs of families in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Presenters will be Nicole Intagliata, Director of Programs at ASP, and Megan Quinn, Associate Professor at East Tennessee State University. (Megan is replacing Paula Masters from Ballad Health who was originally scheduled to speak.) The session will conclude with a short presentation by Nick Oliver of Hinton Rural Life Center, winner of the Best Practices Award for Home Repair Practices. He\u27ll share about their Healthy Homes Checklist, work with their local Red Cross chapter to check for proper smoke detector installation, and partnership with health care providers to help improve conditions at homes that are linked to health concerns

ETSU Elevates Housing: Warmer, Safer, Drier Equals Healthier

ETSU Elevates Housing placed third and is represented by Appalachia Service Project (ASP), ETSU College of Public Health and Ballad Health Department of Population Health. The groups will work together to launch “Healthy Homes: Tri-Cities” to provide critical home repairs for families in the Tri-Cities region in need of warmer, safer and drier housing. The majority of these repairs will be made by volunteers from the region to elevate one family at a time out of substandard housing. In an effort to select the projects with the greatest potential return on investment for the patient and stakeholders, projects may be referred by Ballad Health or ASP will select applicants with stated health concerns