The health impacts of housing-led regeneration: a prospective controlled study
- 1MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK
- 2Public Health, NHS Greater Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Correspondence to: MsHilary Thomson MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, 4 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ, UK; hilary{at}msoc.mrc.gla.ac.uk
- Accepted 30 June 2006
Abstract
Study objective: To evaluate self-reported changes in housing quality and health associated with housing-led area regeneration.
Design: A prospective study over 1 year using structured interviews with 50 households who moved to new housing and with 50 matched controls who did not move.
Setting and participants: Residents of two social rented housing schemes in the West of Scotland.
Results: Small but not statistically significant increases in levels of “excellent” or “good” self-reported health status were found in both groups. Both intervention and control groups experienced reductions in problems related to warmth, but no significant change in how they felt about their house.
Conclusions: It is feasible to conduct prospective controlled studies to evaluate the health effects of housing improvement using matched control groups. The absence of marked improvement in health after moving to new housing might be due to the small sample size or to the limited potential to improve health through this intervention alone.
Footnotes
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Funding: HT and MP are funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Health Department, Scottish Executive. MP receives funding as part of the DH-funded Public Health Research Consortium. DM is employed by NHS Greater Glasgow. The questionnaire used in the study was developed as part of a pilot project funded by Scottish Homes (now Communities Scotland), led by Dr Anne Ellaway, MRC SPHSU.
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Competing interesets: None.
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Ethical approval: This study was approved by the University of Glasgow Ethics Committee.
