The Watcombe Housing Study: the short term effect of improving housing conditions on the health of residents.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the short term health effects of improving housing.


METHODS
Randomised to waiting list.


METHODS
119 council owned houses in south Devon, UK.


METHODS
About 480 residents of these houses.


METHODS
Upgrading houses (including central heating, ventilation, rewiring, insulation, and re-roofing) in two phases a year apart.


METHODS
All residents completed an annual health questionnaire: SF36 and GHQ12 (adults). Residents reporting respiratory illness or arthritis were interviewed using condition-specific questionnaires, the former also completing peak flow and symptom diaries (children) or spirometry (adults). Data on health service use and time lost from school were collected.


RESULTS
Interventions improved energy efficiency. For those living in intervention houses, non-asthma-related chest problems (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.005) and the combined asthma symptom score for adults (Mann-Whitney test, z = 2.7, p = 0.007) diminished significantly compared with control houses. No difference between intervention and control houses was seen for SF36 or GHQ12.


CONCLUSIONS
Rigorous study designs for the evaluation of complex public health and community based interventions are possible. Quantitatively measured health benefits are small, but as health benefits were measured over a short time scale, there may have been insufficient time for measurable improvements in general and disease-specific health to become apparent.
Barton
Andy
A
Peninsula Research & Development Support Unit, Room N17 ITTC Building, Tamar Science Park, Plymouth, UK. andy.barton@phnt.swest.nhs.uk
Basham
Meryl
M
Foy
Chris
C
Buckingham
Ken
K
Somerville
Margaret
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011638:Public Housing / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
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