Housing as a socio-economic determinant of health: findings of a national needs, gaps and opportunities assessment.
BACKGROUND
In 2002-2003, a Needs, Gaps and Opportunities Assessment (NGOA) was conducted to investigate relationships between socio-economic dimensions of housing and health. Recent reviews of the literature point to a dearth of research on the socio-economic dimensions of housing and health, despite its potential for promoting health.


METHODS
The NGOA sought to identify research needs and gaps, and future opportunities for research in housing, socio-economic status and health. The methods used included a literature scan, a scan of research capacity, eight regional stakeholder workshops across Canada, and an open-ended e-mail survey of stakeholders. In this paper, we report the findings of the stakeholder consultations.


RESULTS
The main finding of the NGOA was that there is a significant dearth of research on housing as a socio-economic determinant of health but enormous potential for conducting high-impact, longitudinal and quasi-experimental research in the area. Of particular interest to stakeholder participants in the NGOA were the economic aspects of housing and health; the impact of housing on health for vulnerable subgroups (e.g., Aboriginal peoples, immigrants, children, seniors); the role of socio-economically and ethnically mixed communities; and the interaction between socio-economic aspects of housing and biophysical hazards in the home.


CONCLUSIONS
The NGOA demonstrated that there is a substantial audience eager for knowledge on housing as a socio-economic determinant of health and that such knowledge could make an immediate impact on policy decision-making and program operation. Although knowledge gaps are substantial, the NGOA clearly identifies opportunities for high-impact, longitudinal and quasi-experimental research. Recently signed federal-provincial funding agreements for housing make the findings of the NGOA timely. Moreover, the NGOA results demonstrate how research on housing as a socio-economic determinant of health could be a strategy for improving our understanding of the effects of social environments on health and for reducing health disparities.
Dunn
James R
JR
Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON. jim.dunn@utoronto.ca
Hayes
Michael V
MV
Hulchanski
J David
JD
Hwang
Stephen W
SW
Potvin
Louise
L
D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007198:Indians, North American; D008603:Mental Health; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D035862:Vulnerable Populations