title: Sleep and quality of life in urban poverty: the effect of a slum housing upgrading program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of a housing transition on sleep quality and quality of life in slum dwellers, participating in a slum housing upgrading program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational before-and-after study with a convergent-parallel mixed method design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five slums located in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 150 slum dwellers benefited by a housing program of the nonprofit organization TECHO (spanish word for "roof").
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants moved from their very low-quality house to a basic prefabricated 18 m(2) modular house provided by TECHO.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and World Health Organization Quality of Life brief scale (WHOQOL-BREF) were administered before and after housing upgrading. Data about housing conditions, income, education, sleeping conditions, and cardiovascular risk were also collected. Semistructured interviews were used to expand and nuance quantitative data obtained from a poorly educated sample. Results showed that sleep quality significantly increased after the housing program (z = -6.57, P < 0.001). Overall quality of life (z = -6.85, P < 0.001), physical health domain (z = -4.35, P < 0.001), psychological well-being domain (z = -3.72, P < 0.001) and environmental domain (z = -7.10, P < 0.001) of WHOQOL-BREF were also improved. Interviews demonstrated the importance of serenity for improving quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A minimal improvement in the quality of basic housing can significantly increase sleep quality and quality of life among slum dwellers. Understanding sleep and daily life conditions in informal urban settlements could help to define what kind of low-cost intervention may improve sleep quality, quality of life, and reduce existent sleep disparity.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Docencia e Investigación, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Argentina.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Simonelli
authors.forename: Yvan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Leanza
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boilard
authors.forename: Martín
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hyland
authors.forename: Jura L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Augustinavicius
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Cardinali
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vallières
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez-Chada
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Vigo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011638:Public Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012890:Sleep; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Sleep; mixed method design; poverty; quality of life; slums