Development of a measure of hoarding-related risks

The dysfunction associated with hoarding behaviour sometimes requires intervention from community agencies to reduce risks to occupants and the public. Unfortunately, current measures do not reflect a shared understanding of aspects of the home that are necessary for community service providers to assess in cases of hoarding. Providers differ in their understanding of risks in the home, as they do not consistently use the same measures to conduct assessments, nor are there standard guidelines of what needs to be assessed in hoarded homes. This study aimed to develop a measure that would reflect a collective understanding of essential hoarding-related health and safety risks in the home that require intervention. Study 1 involved a Delphi survey to create a list of items that are critical to assess in hoarded homes. This study identified 32 environmental risk factors to include in the risk assessment measure. Once this part was complete, the Home Environment Assessment Tool for Hoarding (HEATH) was created with these items grouped into five domains. In Study 2, another group of experts assessed the content validity of the resulting measure using the Content Validity Index method. At least 80% of participants endorsed clarity, relevance, and practicality of every item. The index for the overall scale was 0.996, providing strong evidence of content validity. These studies played an essential role in the creation of a risk assessment measure that can improve communication between agencies, track changes from interventions, and standardize risk assessment in hoarded homes.Arts, Faculty ofPsychology, Department ofGraduat