Research Topic: Health

Research
Housing America’s Older Adults 2023 (JCHS)

This report examines the realities of older adults' housing in the U.S. It begins with demographics and data about seniors' living situations, and then dives into challenges around affordability, accessibility, and housing quality. It closes out by focusing on the special challenge that is the "dual burden" of housing and elder care on low-income households.

Read More
Research
City of Harrisonburg Comprehensive Housing Study & Market Analysis (2021)

The more than 200-page report, the first ever conducted by the City, views housing needs through the lens of social determinants of health, introduced by the World Health Organization, to quantify existing housing supply, assess demand for different housing types, identify barriers to meeting demands, and list potential policy tools to address housing gaps. The study produced 21 recommendations structured to establish a foundation to address affordable housing now and in the future.

Read More
Research
Urban Blight and Public Health (Urban Institute, 2017)

This Urban Institute report synthesizes recent studies on the complexities of how blight affects the health of individuals and neighborhoods while offering a blend of policy and program recommendations to help guide communities in taking a more holistic and coordinated approach, such as expanding the use of health impact assessments, tracking health outcomes, and infusing public health into housing policies, codes and practices.

Read More
Research
BRIGHT Study Finds Improved Health at Boston Housing Authority’s Old Colony Homes (HUD, 2017)

For more than 15 years, Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has executed efforts to improve residents’ health through changes in environment and behavior. One of these initiatives was the Boston Residential Investigation on Green and Healthy Transitions (BRIGHT) study, a collaborative effort with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Committee for Boston Public Housing to measure the impact of healthy housing features and practices on resident health, satisfaction, and comfort. The study compared the health of residents living in the old housing with residents’ health in new units with healthy housing features and practices. The redeveloped housing included smoke-free housing policies, improved ventilation, and tight building envelopes.

Read More
Research
Paycheck to Paycheck: More than Housing (NHC, 2017)

This research note expands on the Paycheck to Paycheck 2016 analysis and explores the context in which these salaries are being earned by examining household spending on a variety of items. Households must balance their spending on housing with their spending on other key household needs, such as transportation and healthcare. The lowest income households face the greatest challenges in balancing these competing needs.

Read More
Research
Housing as Health Care: A Road Map for States (NGA, 2016)

Developed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices through extensive consultation with senior state officials and other national experts, the road map provides a step-by-step guide for both the immediate need to support those state planning efforts and broad use by all governors interested in the promise of housing as an essential element of improved health and reduced utilization of costly health care services.

Read More