1. The influence of housing on
child health and well-being
Dr Amy Clair
Australian Centre for Housing Research
University of Adelaide
1

2. • Study of the relationship between housing and health has a long
history
• But the nature of this interest has evolved over time
• Increasingly housing issues recognised as being interrelated and
overlapping
• Historic recognition of the importance of housing to health reflected
in housing coming under the Ministry of Health in the UK after
WWII, for example
• But policy focus has shifted
2
Housing and Health

3. 3
Housing and Health
Affordability Security Quality Accessibility
Rent/mortgage
Energy and water
Maintenance
Security of tenure
Risk of removal or
emergency
Suitability
Appropriate facilities
Maintenance
Suitability
Access to:
education
employment
health
food
internet
transport

4. 4
Housing and Health
Affordability Security Quality Accessibility
Rent/mortgage
Energy and water
Maintenance
Security of tenure
Risk of removal or
emergency
Suitability
Appropriate facilities
Maintenance
Suitability
Access to:
education
employment
health
food
internet
transport
Autonomy and control

5. 5
Housing and Health
Affordability Security Quality Accessibility
Rent/mortgage
Energy and water
Maintenance
Security of tenure
Risk of removal or
emergency
Suitability
Appropriate facilities
Maintenance
Suitability
Access to:
education
employment
health
food
internet
transport
Stress
Financial strain
Crowds out
spending on other
essentials
Stress
Threat to
ontological security
Undermines
relationships with
services
Respiratory,
cardiovascular,
skin, mental health
Hazards, crowding
Stigma and shame
Poor nutrition
Poor health service
Lower education
quality
Social relationships

6. 6
Children’s Housing and Health
Affordability Security Quality Accessibility
Housing costs
crowd out other
spending
Stress
Insecurity and
moving can affect
social
relationships, and
links with health
and education
services
Child services
involvement
Exposure to cold
and damp affects
respiratory,
cardiovascular,
and mental health
Space for study,
privacy, crowding
and contagion
Child services
involvement
Home location
affects access to
schools, health
services, child
care, and other
essentials e.g.
food (food deserts)

7. 7
Insecure housing can be
expensive because of the costs
of moving
https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928718768334

8. 8
Poorer quality housing may be
more expensive to maintain and
heat/cool
Insecure housing can be
expensive because of the costs
of moving

9. 9
Higher housing costs may enable access
to better services, particularly schools
Poorer quality housing may be
more expensive to maintain and
heat/cool
Insecure housing can be
expensive because of the costs
of moving

10. 10
Higher housing costs may enable access
to better services, particularly schools
Poorer quality housing may be
more expensive to maintain and
heat/cool
Insecure housing can be
expensive because of the costs
of moving
Inaccessible housing is unlikely to be
sustainable
Inaccessible housing likely
to lead to higher transport
costs

11. 11
Higher housing costs may enable access
to better services, particularly schools
Poorer quality housing may be
more expensive to maintain and
heat/cool
Insecure housing can be
expensive because of the costs
of moving
Inaccessible housing is unlikely to be
sustainable
Inaccessible housing likely
to lead to higher transport
costs
Affordability may impact the
ability to afford/maintain the
desired home

12. 12
Higher housing costs may enable access
to better services, particularly schools
Poorer quality housing may be
more expensive to maintain and
heat/cool
Insecure housing can be
expensive because of the costs
of moving
Inaccessible housing is unlikely to be
sustainable
Inaccessible housing likely
to lead to higher transport
costs
Low autonomy/control may stop the home being
maintained to a suitable level
Affordability may impact the
ability to afford/maintain the
desired home

13. 13
Causal Pathways
Stress, impaired
functioning, poorer
health management,
changes to parenting
styles, emotional
contagion, family
stress/strain theory
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-018-9550-7

14. 14
Causal Pathways
Housing essential
for other important
determinants of
health

15. 15
Children’s homelessness
• Linked to increased risk of:
• chronic health conditions,
• undernutrition,
• development issues,
• poorer cognitive function,
• disability,
• emotional and behavioural problems,
• not being fully vaccinated
• Temporary accommodation particularly unsuitable for children

16. • Child development and the
importance of environment
(Bronfenbrenner)
• Practicalities: Children spend large
amounts of time in the home
• Lifecourse approach – needs of
toddlers very different to the needs
of teenagers for example
• Important to not rely on adult
perspectives
16
Specific considerations when
researching children’s housing

17. • Relative lack of data
• Tendency to focus on ‘well-becoming’
• Perceived detachment of children from housing – they are not
involved in decision making (directly) – but children are aware
of financial issues (Ridge)
• Children often don’t live in just one home
17
Challenges when studying children’s
housing

18. • Evidence that housing
affordability challenges
affecting family formation
• Households with children
are not considered desirable
tenants
• Disproportionately impacted
by austerity measures such
as in the UK
18
Housing challenges for households
with/wanting children

19. 19
Housing Benefit changes
https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kww055

20. 20
Housing Benefit changes
https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2021.1964253

21. • You get what you measure
• We need more data on children’s housing situations
• Children’s housing is important in its own right, and there are a
number of reasons to believe housing is particularly important
for children
• COVID-19 focused attention on housing, but housing deserves
this attention all of the time
• Need to reconsider the role of housing in the welfare
state/social security system
21
Conclusions

22. Subtitle
22

23. • UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Article 27
• 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate
for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development
• UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Article 25
• Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being
of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and
necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment,
sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control.
23
Housing as a human right