Housing Insecurity and the Association With Health Outcomes and Unhealthy Behaviors, Washington State, 2011

Prev Chronic Dis. 2015 Jul 9:12:E109. doi: 10.5888/pcd12.140511.

Abstract

Few studies of associations between housing and health have focused on housing insecurity and health risk behaviors and outcomes. We measured the association between housing insecurity and selected health risk behaviors and outcomes, adjusted for socioeconomic measures, among 8,415 respondents to the 2011 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Housing insecure respondents were about twice as likely as those who were not housing insecure to report poor or fair health status or delay doctor visits because of costs. This analysis supports a call to action among public health practitioners who address disparities to focus on social determinants of health risk behaviors and outcomes.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
  • Binge Drinking / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Health Behavior* / ethnology
  • Health Status Indicators
  • Healthcare Disparities / statistics & numerical data*
  • Hispanic or Latino / psychology
  • Hispanic or Latino / statistics & numerical data
  • Housing / economics
  • Housing / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Insurance Coverage / statistics & numerical data
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Office Visits / economics
  • Office Visits / statistics & numerical data
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / ethnology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / psychology*
  • Prevalence
  • Smoking / epidemiology
  • Social Class
  • Stress, Psychological / epidemiology
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Washington / epidemiology
  • Young Adult