Housing strategies that improve Indigenous health outcomes
Housing strategies that improve Indigenous health outcomes Report
Resource sheet
- Author(s): Vicki-Ann Ware
- Published: 2013
- Publisher: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; Australian Institute of Family Studies
- Volume: Closing the Gap Clearinghouse
Abstract: Housing has long been recognised as a key social determinant of health (Bailie 2007; Phibbs & Thompson 2011): Housing not only provides shelter but also affordable, appropriate and adequate housing is argued to have, among many other things, a marked impact on people’s health, their access to labour markets and an array of other benefits (Phibbs & Thompson 2011:5). Further to this, the 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) indicates that 28% of Indigenous people aged 15 and over lived in dwellings with major structural problems, such as cracks in walls or floors, plumbing problems, and wood rot or termite damage. Almost 4 in 10 people living in remote areas lived in dwellings with structural problems. However, the situation may be beginning to improve due to a range of major housing construction and maintenance initiatives since 2002 (AIHW 2011a). Mallett et al.’s study of precarious housing (that is, housing which is unaffordable, unsuitable and insecure) shows that Indigenous people are 8 times more likely to experience overcrowding, 18 times more likely to live in a dwelling in poor condition and 8 times more likely to live in private rental (Mallet et al. 2011). Contrary to common perception, only about 10 per cent of damage to Indigenous people’s housing is due to deliberate vandalism (Lea & Pholeros 2010). Rather, the primary reasons for the poor condition of housing are inappropriate design for local climate conditions or cultural practices, low-quality construction and materials, ‘high levels of wear and tear’ due to small houses being used to accommodate large households (Lea & Pholeros 2010:191), and limited maintenance (Lea & Pholeros 2010; McDonald et al. 2009). A large body of international and Australian Indigenous-specific research consistently demonstrates that, despite the difficulties of establishing causality (Howden-Chapman et al. 1996), there are clear bi-directional links between health outcomes and the living environment, including the quality of housing, backyard and neighbourhood (AIHW 2011a; Mallet et al. 2011; Rowley et al. 2008; Watson 2007). Likewise, upfront investment in housing interventions is a cost-effective means of improving Indigenous health outcomes over the longer term (Garnett et al. 2009). Housing interventions can affect physical health, mental health and social wellbeing positively or negatively, with many studies noting that improved housing and neighbourhood conditions can lead to improved physical and mental health and improved childhood development (for example, AEHU 2010; AIHW 2010; Bailie et al. 2005; Dockery et al. 2010; Foster et al. 2011; Phibbs & Thompson 2011). One recent program evaluation in New South Wales, for example, showed significant reductions in a range of diseases among Indigenous public housing residents following improvements to their housing (AEHU 2010).