Home sweet home? - Alex Marsh

How much does the condition of our housing affect our health?This timely new study looks in detail at the impact poor housing has on health, using data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS).It provides important information to inform the current debate on Our Healthier Nation and to strengthen arguments for health, housing and social care agencies to work together.It focuses on three main areas:if, and when, housing deprivation impacts on overall health;the link between overcrowding and respiratory and infectious disease;housing deprivation and health in the context of other possible influences on health.The study uses the innovative approach of creating indices for both the severity of ill-health and housing deprivation.These indices are incorporated into an analysis of the impact over time of housing deprivation upon health.The authors conclude that housing plays a significant role in health outcomes and hence provides support for the argument that addressing housing deprivation should be central to thinking about health improvement.Home Sweet Home? is essential reading for researchers and students in housing, public health, urban renewal, and social policy as well as professionals working in these areas.

Alex Marsh is a Senior Research Fellow at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK.