Abstract
Objective
To establish whether rehousing people to new dwellings had impacts upon residents’ mental health and psychosocial benefits derived from the home.
Methods
A prospective controlled study across Scotland involving 723 householders (334 intervention; 389 control). Interviews were carried out just prior to the move, and 2 years thereafter.
Results
Changes in self-reported psychosocial benefits were greater than changes in mental health. Respondents in family households appeared to have gained the most and those in older person households the least. For those in families, the most consistent effects flowed from improvements in space, privacy and change of location; for those in adult-only households, improvements in crime and safety mattered most. Gains in psychosocial benefits were associated with improved mental health (SF-36) scores.
Conclusions
Rehousing has substantial impacts on residential conditions and on psychosocial benefits, and lesser (possibly indirect) impacts upon mental health. Housing is a complex intervention applied to a heterogeneous group for a range of reasons. Hence its impacts result from different aspects of residential change for particular types of household.
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Acknowledgments
The SHARP study was funded by the Scottish Government, the Chief Scientist Office (part of the Scottish Government Health Directorate) and the University of Glasgow. Our thanks to Catherine Ferrell, Kate Campbell and Julie Watson of the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (SPHSU) for organising the fieldwork, and to the fieldwork team for their efforts throughout the project and for the assistance of Business Plus for conducting interviews in the north of Scotland.
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This paper belongs to the special issue “Housing for health promotion”.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Psychosocial benefit items
Respondents were presented with a series of ten statements and asked to declare their level of agreement with each on a 5-point scale, from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’.
Benefit | Statement |
---|---|
Privacy | I feel I have privacy in my home |
Retreat | I can get away from it all in my home |
Freedom | I can do what I want, when I want in my home |
Status | Most people would like a home like mine |
Control | I feel in control of my home |
Progress | My home makes me feel that I’m doing well in life |
Security | I worry about losing my home |
Routine | My home life has a sense of routine |
Safety | My home feels safe |
Identity | My home expresses my personality and values |
Appendix 2: Definition of residential gains for the intervention group
Dwelling gains
Dwelling | Moving from a flat to a house |
Floor level | Moving from above ground level to ground level |
Garden | From having no garden to having use of own garden after moving |
Fabric | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from five items: damp; condensation; draughty/leaky windows; poor state of repair; unclean, unsafe or cold wall surfaces and floor coverings |
Safety/security | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from four items: level of security; accidents inside the home; accidents outside the home; getting in and out of the home |
Amenities | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from four items: keeping home warm in winter; drying clothes; number of baths/showers; extent of double glazing |
Space | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from four items: too few rooms; too many rooms; rooms too small; rooms too large |
Privacy and quiet | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from four items: not enough privacy; noise from neighbours; noise from other household members; noise from street or area |
Gains in sense of community
Belonging | Increases in a combined score (0–12) derived across three questions with 5-point Likert scale response categories from ‘agree a lot’ to ‘disagree a lot’: |
‘The friends and associations I have with other people in my neighbourhood mean a lot to me’ | |
‘I feel that living in this neighbourhood gives me a sense of community’ | |
‘I don’t feel like I belong to this area’ | |
Cohesion | Increases in a combined score (0–20) derived across five questions with 5-point Likert scale response categories from ‘agree strongly’ to ‘disagree strongly’: |
‘People around here are willing to help their neighbours’ | |
‘This is a close-knit community’ | |
‘People in this neighbourhood can be trusted’ | |
‘People in this neighbourhood do not share the same values’ | |
‘People in this neighbourhood generally don’t get along with each other’ | |
Empowerment | Increases in a combined score (0–16) derived across four questions with 5-point Likert scale response categories from ‘agree strongly’ to ‘disagree strongly’: |
‘The community in this neighbourhood is generally effective in influencing the authorities and achieving what it wants’ | |
‘I can have a say in local matters if I want’ | |
‘If the people in my community were planning something I would say that “we” were doing something rather than “they” were doing something’ | |
‘I’d be happy to work with others to do something for the community’ | |
Safety | Increases in a combined score (0–12) derived across three questions (two questions for non-family households) with 5-point Likert scale response categories from ‘agree a lot’ to ‘disagree a lot’: |
‘I feel safe walking around my area after dark’ | |
‘This is a safe place to live’ | |
-and for respondents in family households: | |
‘I would be happy for my children to be out after dark’ | |
Collective efficacy | Increases in a combined score (0–16) derived across four questions with 5-point Likert scale response categories from ‘very likely’ to ‘very unlikely’: |
‘How likely is it that neighbours around here could be counted on to do something if… | |
‘Children were skiving off school’ | |
‘Children were spraying graffiti on a wall’ | |
‘Children were showing disrespect to an adult’ | |
‘A neighbour was dumping rubbish in the street’ |
Neighbourhood improvements
Change of location | Those who answered yes to the following post-intervention question: ‘Are you living in the same neighbourhood as before you moved?’ |
Regeneration area | Post-intervention location within one of the Scottish Government’s social inclusion partnership areas. determined by postcode unit |
Neighbourhood infrastructure | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from 12 items: security level of houses, closes, courts and gardens; level of police presence or response speed; general appearance of the area; air quality or pollution; adequate street lighting; noise, e.g. factories, traffic, shouting; speeding traffic or amount of traffic; uneven or dangerous pavements; public transport services; safe children’s play areas; facilities for teenagers and young people; reputation of the area |
Neighbourhood crime and ASB | Reduction in the number of ‘serious problems’ identified from 11 items: disturbance by children or youngsters; vandalism/graffiti; litter and rubbish; assaults and muggings; burglaries; people drinking alcohol in public places; nuisance from dogs; people hanging around; drug dealing/taking; the people around here; domestic abuse |
Increased local activity
Use of amenities | Increase in the number of amenities used in the local area from a list of 11 items: general grocer or supermarket; leisure facilities, e.g. bingo, social club, pub; sports facilities; local park; post office; bank including ATM; doctors’ surgery/health centre; church/chapel/temple; adult education classes; library; schools/nurseries (for families only) |
Social networks | Increase in the number of close contacts living nearby (within 10–15 min walk of the home) including: immediate family, close friends or other relatives |
Neighbouring | Increase in the number of neighbouring behaviours engaged in from a list of five items: |
‘I visit my neighbours in their homes’ | |
‘If I needed advice, I could go to someone in my neighbourhood’ | |
‘I borrow things and exchange favours with my neighbours’ | |
‘I rarely have my neighbours over to my house to visit’ | |
‘I regularly stop and talk with people in my neighbourhood’ | |
Participation | Increase in the number of organizations people ‘join in the activities of’ with in the local area, from a list of ten items: political parties, trade unions, pressure groups; parent-teacher association; tenants’ or residents’ groups; youth groups, scouts, guides or similar; church or other religious group; charitable organization; education, arts or music group, or evening class; social groups; sports club, gym or exercise class; other groups or organizations or informal groups |
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Kearns, A., Whitley, E., Mason, P. et al. Material and meaningful homes: mental health impacts and psychosocial benefits of rehousing to new dwellings. Int J Public Health 56, 597–607 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0275-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0275-3