Good practice guide to raise awareness of indoor air quality on the health and well-being of ethnic minorities

The aim of this project was to utilise recent research in order to provide guidance to housing associations on the ways in which indoor home environments are impacted by the way ethnic minority householders live.

Research has shown that some cultural behaviours can have an impact on indoor air quality, with problems including condensation, high energy use and poor thermal comfort. This in turn can have an impact on health and well-being. Working with the community, we looked at creating guidance for both housing associations and residents on ways to minimise impact on the indoor environment whilst still being able to participate in cultural activities.

Facilitated by Cardiff Council and Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team Wales (EYST), the project was co-designed with Cardiff Council housing tenants through a series of workshops. We also looked at case studies illustrating behaviour patterns and information from living lab data collection devices.

Recommendations were pulled together in the form of a good practice guide for councils, who will be able to scale up and disseminate the recommendations across Wales.