The Healthy Housing Programme Outcomes Evaluation
Housing New Zealand Corporation and some district health boards collaborate to implement the Healthy Housing programme (Healthy Housing) for Housing New Zealand's tenants.
Healthy Housing matches households to houses appropriate to their needs. It links families to the health and social services they require to improve their health and wellbeing. It assists tenants to maximise the benefits of living in houses that are insulated, ventilated and heated effectively.
The evaluation determined that healthy environments in the house resulted in increased household wellbeing and reductions in hospitalisations. This in turn resulted in tenants with greater self-sufficiency and a greater sense of control over their lives. Greater control over their living environments was expressed as feelings of pride in their house and the level to which their homes were maintained.
The evaluation found that Healthy Housing was an effective and sustainable intervention with positive outcomes.
Overview
Since January 2001 Healthy Housing has been improving the health and welfare of Housing New Zealand's tenants, many of whom are Māori and Pacific Island families, living in areas of extreme health risk. Health and welfare are improved by:
- reducing the risk of housing-related health problems
- improving the quality and availability of state housing for larger families
- improving access to health and social services
- increasing awareness of healthy living.
The success of Healthy Housing relies on tenant engagement and participation. Healthy Housing starts with providers interviewing families to identify housing, health and wellbeing issues that are uppermost for them. Together they work out the most important things that need to be done to houses, living arrangements, and about health and social issues. Families and providers then work together to implement agreed action plans to reduce overcrowding, improve the health of the house and the household, and link families to appropriate health and social services.
Healthy Housing operates in partnership with district health boards in Counties Manukau, Auckland, Northland and the Hutt Valley. It intervenes in priority localities.
Healthy Housing comprises three related interventions undertaken concurrently:
- a housing intervention by Housing New Zealand
- a health intervention by the district health boards
- a joint intervention that identifies issues of a social/welfare nature and provides a linking and facilitation service to appropriate government and social service agencies.
Housing New Zealand's housing intervention provides:
- healthy environments (through passive ventilation, insulation and heating)
- design improvements (such as upgrading of kitchens and bathrooms)
- house extensions (such as adding bedrooms and bathrooms, and increasing the size of living spaces)
- transfers to other Housing New Zealand accommodation that better matches the needs of the household
.The health partners act as health assessors, educators and referral agents to health and social services.
Housing New Zealand tenancies are usually managed from a neighbourhood unit. Healthy Housing team members visit and assess all households within the target areas. An intervention involves a wider team working with a household, including a builder/designer/architect, tenancy manager, public health nurse and other social service providers. At the completion of the intervention the tenancy returns to the management of the neighbourhood unit.
