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Is Housing a Health Insult?

Author

Listed:
  • Emma Baker

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia)

  • Andrew Beer

    (University of South Australia Business School, Adelaide 5000, Australia)

  • Laurence Lester

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia)

  • David Pevalin

    (School of Health and Human Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK)

  • Christine Whitehead

    (Department of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK)

  • Rebecca Bentley

    (Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia)

Abstract

In seeking to understand the relationship between housing and health, research attention is often focussed on separate components of people’s whole housing ‘bundles’. We propose in this paper that such conceptual and methodological abstraction of elements of the housing and health relationship limits our ability to understand the scale of the accumulated effect of housing on health and thereby contributes to the under-recognition of adequate housing as a social policy tool and powerful health intervention. In this paper, we propose and describe an index to capture the means by which housing bundles influence health. We conceptualise the index as reflecting accumulated housing ‘insults to health’—an Index of Housing Insults (IHI). We apply the index to a sample of 1000 low-income households in Australia. The analysis shows a graded association between housing insults and health on all outcome measures. Further, after controlling for possible confounders, the IHI is shown to provide additional predictive power to the explanation of levels of mental health, general health and clinical depression beyond more traditional proxy measures. Overall, this paper reinforces the need to look not just at separate housing components but to embrace a broader understanding of the relationship between housing and health.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma Baker & Andrew Beer & Laurence Lester & David Pevalin & Christine Whitehead & Rebecca Bentley, 2017. "Is Housing a Health Insult?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:6:p:567-:d:99781
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zan Yang & Yuqi Fu, 2019. "Physical Attributes of Housing and Elderly Health: A New Dynamic Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Nanqian Chen & Yanpei Shen & Hailun Liang & Rui Guo, 2021. "Housing and Adult Health: Evidence from Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-13, January.
    3. Christopher B Goodman & Megan E Hatch, 2023. "State preemption and affordable housing policy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(6), pages 1048-1065, May.
    4. Courtney J. Wright & Jacinta Colley & Kate Knudsen & Elizabeth Kendall, 2019. "Housing for People with an Acquired Brain or Spinal Injury: Mapping the Australian Funding Landscape," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-51, August.
    5. Lijian Xie & Suhong Zhou & Lin Zhang, 2021. "Associations between Objective and Subjective Housing Status with Individual Mental Health in Guangzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-14, January.
    6. Jie Tang & Nanqian Chen & Hailun Liang & Xu Gao, 2022. "The Effect of Built Environment on Physical Health and Mental Health of Adults: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-21, May.
    7. Anna Ziersch & Moira Walsh & Clemence Due & Emily Duivesteyn, 2017. "Exploring the Relationship between Housing and Health for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in South Australia: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Roderick J. Lawrence, 2017. "Constancy and Change: Key Issues in Housing and Health Research, 1987–2017," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-7, July.
    9. Walter Dachaga & Walter Timo de Vries, 2022. "Integrating Urban Land Tenure Security in Health Determinants: The Design of Indicators for Measuring Land Tenure Security and Health Relationships in Developing Country Contexts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-28, March.

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    Keywords

    housing; health; index; longitudinal;
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