Keeping Warm and Staying Well. Does Home Energy Efficiency Mediate the Relationship between Socio-economic Status and the Risk of Poorer Health?

Heyman, Bob; Harrington, Barbara; Merleau-Ponty, Nick; Stockton, Helen; Ritchie, Neil; Allan, Teresa

doi:10.1080/02673030500114656

Cited by 33 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…11 12 The efficiency of domestic energy is linked with health because money spent on energy cannot be spent on other necessities such as food. 13 14 Colder houses place more physiological stress on older people, babies, and sick people, who have less robust thermoregulatory systems and are also likely to spend more time inside. 15 Houses that are cold are also likely to be damp, and this can lead to the growth of moulds, which can cause respiratory METHODS The study methods, including power considerations and randomisation, have been published previously, but a brief summary is given below.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community

Howden‐Chapman

Matheson

Crane

et al. 2007

BMJ

415

305

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective To determine whether insulating existing houses increases indoor temperatures and improves occupants' health and wellbeing.Design Community based, cluster, single blinded randomised study.Setting Seven low income communities in New Zealand.Participants 1350 households containing 4407 participants.Intervention Installation of a standard retrofit insulation package.Main outcome measures Indoor temperature and relative humidity, energy consumption, self reported health, wheezing, days off school and work, visits to general practitioners, and admissions to hospital.Results Insulation was associated with a small increase in bedroom temperatures during the winter (0.5°C) and decreased relative humidity (−2.3%), despite energy consumption in insulated houses being 81% of that in uninsulated houses. Bedroom temperatures were below 10°C for 1.7 fewer hours each day in insulated homes than in uninsulated ones. These changes were associated with reduced odds in the insulated homes of fair or poor self rated health (adjusted odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.38 to 0.68), self reports of wheezing in the past three months (0.57, 0.47 to 0.70), self reports of children taking a day off school (0.49, 0.31 to 0.80), and self reports of adults taking a day off work (0.62, 0

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community

Howden‐Chapman

Matheson

Crane

et al. 2007

BMJ

415

305

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thermal comfort deficiencies in buildings are found to have a negative impact on the occupants' wellbeing. For example, it is argued that in cold climates, inadequately insulated homes contribute to fuel poverty and a decline in physical and mental health (Heyman et al, 2005). Living in cold and damp environments is associated with health risks such as cardiovascular disease, asthma and respiratory problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Comfort and Satisfaction in the Context of Social Housing: Case Study in Bogotá, Colombia

Bernal¹,

Medina²,

Pinzón³

2019

JCDC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thermal comfort and satisfaction have been little studied in the context of social housing. Post-occupancy evaluations and research on occupant's satisfaction are particularly scarce. This article examines and characterises this problem through the detailed analysis of a case study in Bogotá, Colombia, which is representative of a large percentage of the current housing stock in the country and similar regions in Latin America. The construction of high-rise social housing in major cities like Bogotá has soared in recent years, due to population growth and displacement. However, there are serious concerns regarding its built quality. The methodology used in this study combines analysis through the perspectives of the static and the adaptive models and the interpretation of modes of adaptive behaviour. Data was collected during fieldwork via various means, including temperature and relative humidity measurements, observations and structured occupant surveys. Results give new insights regarding thermal comfort deficiencies and low levels of occupant's satisfaction in all apartments studied. Additional findings highlight the adequacy of the models used for the analysis and identify opportunities for improvement. This could be of interest to academics, policymakers, construction stakeholders and housing users.

show abstract

“…Several aspects of housing conditions, including composite measures of housing quality;30 low indoor temperatures;28 29 43 48 absence of, or reduced satisfaction with central heating,46 49 and poor thermal insulation3 46 48 were associated with adverse winter or cold weather-related health outcomes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic and behavioural risk factors for adverse winter health and social outcomes in economically developed countries: a systematic review of quantitative observational studies

Tanner

Moffatt

Milne

et al. 2013

J Epidemiol Community Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This review identified socioeconomic, housing and behavioural factors associated with a range of cold weather-related adverse health or social outcomes. Only tentative conclusions can be drawn due to the limitations of existing research. More robust studies are needed to address the methodological issues identified and uncover causal associations. A review of qualitative and intervention studies would help to inform policies to reduce the adverse health and social impacts of cold weather.

show abstract

Keeping Warm and Staying Well. Does Home Energy Efficiency Mediate the Relationship between Socio-economic Status and the Risk of Poorer Health?

Cited by 33 publications

References 21 publications

Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community

Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community

Thermal Comfort and Satisfaction in the Context of Social Housing: Case Study in Bogotá, Colombia

Socioeconomic and behavioural risk factors for adverse winter health and social outcomes in economically developed countries: a systematic review of quantitative observational studies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About