Effects of Housing Deprivation on Health: Empirical Evidence from Spain

Abstract

Severe housing deprivation rates in Spain have tripled in just four years, affecting 3.4% of the population in 2020, with a higher incidence among the low-income population (9.2%). Despite the social aspect of the problem, minimal research has been carried out in Spain on the effects that the various forms of housing deprivation have on health. This study analyzes the impact of housing deprivation on health outcomes, with the objective of achieving results that facilitate the creation of improved public policies. Microdata are used from the Living Conditions Survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics for the period 2009–2019, and several multilevel logistic regression models are presented to control for possible regional differences. The results show that the elements with the greatest effect on objective health are noise, leaks and harmful temperatures in housing. In addition, environmental factors, such as pollution, neighborhood crime and the number of units in a given apartment building, can be added to the list. As a result, we conclude that there are certain structural and environmental elements in housing and the environment in which is located that have a more intense impact on objective health and on the subjective perception of a person’s state of health.

Schizophrenia: A Review of Social Risk Factors That Affect Women

“…A study from Spain concludes that elements of housing that result in the greatest adverse effect on general health are noise, leaks, and harmful temperatures. Survey respondents also complain about pollution, neighborhood crime, and population density [36].…”

Housing Deprivation Among Polish Households: Prevalence and Associated Factors

“…Based on Malsow's pyramid of needs, it can be concluded that housing, apart from being classified as a basic need (located at the bottom of the pyramid), also enables the higher-level needs to be met (Kozera & Kozera, 2014), such as the need for security, belonging, recognition or self-fulfillment. In addition to providing the basis for meeting living needs, housing is one of the basic material elements (Dziechciarz-Duda, 2017) enabling the enjoyment of other human rights, such as education and health (Tyrell & Tuppett, 2017;Carmona-Derqui, 2023). Housing conditions, including the physical and structural characteristics of housing, are important components of the broadly understood concept of quality of life (Marsch et al, 2000;Braubach & Fairburn, 2010;Rasnaca, 2017;Tyrell & Tuppett, 2017;Sikora-Fernadez, 2018;Ibrahim, 2020;Zumaya & Motlak, 2021;Matel & Marcinkiewicz, 2021;Ulman & Ćwiek, 2021).…”