R&R Final PDF's November '17 cc

Article
Warmer homes = healthy homes
Warmer homes can improve the health of social housing tenants - and reduce NHS service use, according to health economists
at Bangor University.
Research has revealed how housing
improvements can lead to health
benefits. Working with Gentoo
housing association and Nottingham City
Homes, Health Economists at the University’s
Centre for Health Economics & Medicines
Evaluation (CHEME) evaluated the costs and
outcomes
associated with
social housing
improvements,
and found a link
between warmer
homes and
improved health
for social
housing tenants
- and reduced
NHS service use.
The results,
published in the
International
Journal of Public
Health, showed
that retrofitting
new energy
efficient combiboilers
and double-glazed windows has a
positive impact on the health status, health
service use, and fuel poverty risk of social
housing tenants.
Bangor University’s Professor Rhiannon Tudor
Edwards and Dr Nathan Bray provided Health
Economics support from the University’s
Centre for Health Economics and Medicines
Evaluation to the Warm Homes for Health
Project.
“A year after receiving housing improvements
from Gentoo, tenants reported improved
health status, less use of outpatient and
emergency NHS services, that they could heat
an extra room in their home, and that they felt
more secure financially with respect to fuel
bills,” explained Professor Edwards.
Dr Bray added, “This was a group of tenants
with considerable ill health and financial
deprivation, who experienced a number of
significant benefits after receiving housing
modifications to
improve the
warmth of their
homes.”
Using an historical
cohort study
design costs and
outcomes of
retrofitting social
housing
improvements
were examined.
Over 470 social
housing tenants
from nearly 230
households in
Sunderland were
surveyed both
Dr Nathan Bray
before and 12
months after
installation of new boilers and double glazed
windows by Gentoo, at no cost to the tenants.
The cohort proved to be highly
socioeconomically deprived; the vast majority
of households had an income of less than
£15,000 per year. Recruitment was staggered
to counter any effect of seasonality. On
average the cost of completing the housing
improvements was £3725 per household.
After the housing improvements had been
installed, six month household health service
use costs reduced by £95 per home, equating
to a 16% reduction in household NHS costs.
On average a 69% reduction in hospital
outpatient appointments was observed per
household, as well as a 46% reduction in
accident and emergency attendance and a
10% reduction in GP visits. For this cohort of
228 homes alone it is estimated that the NHS
saved over £20,000 in six months after
completion of the housing improvements. It
was also found that the health status of main
tenants significantly increased by almost 8%
and financial satisfaction increased by 7%.
Additionally, small non-significant
improvements to main tenant happiness, life
satisfaction, anxiety and well-being were also
found.
After the home improvements were
completed, most households were able to
heat all rooms in the home, where previously
most households left one room unheated due
to energy costs. Furthermore, over a third of
households were no longer spending 10% or
more of their income on energy bills, a key
indication of reduced fuel poverty.
“More needs to be done to ensure that
everyone in the UK lives in a ‘healthy’ home
which is warm and free from damp,”
concluded Professor Edwards. “This research
could influence healthcare commissioners,
councils and housing associations to work
together to improve health through better
housing.
“There is a real need to improve housing in the
UK: it is estimated that almost 44,000 more
deaths occur during the coldest months of the
year compared to the rest of the year. Chronic
illnesses, such as respiratory disease, are
exacerbated by cold and damp homes and
contribute to these avoidable excess winter
deaths.”
Health and Care Research Wales have funded
PhD student Eira Winrow (CHEME, Bangor
University) to further investigate the impact of
housing on health and NHS expenditure.
www.cheme.bangor.ac.uk
14 Refurb retrofit
magazine
November 2017 R6