Estimation of the health effects and economic benefits of an improved residential environment

Abstract

Costs are a barrier to improving residential environments during new construction and renovation. Previous research suggests that improving residential environments may contribute to improved health. If such health effects are quantified and recognized as economic benefits (lower medical costs and income from absenteeism), increased investment in residential improvements can be expected. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the benefits of improving health through improvement of residential environments considering individual and household attributes. The effects of residential environment improvements were quantified at the individual and household levels. Data were collected via nationwide surveys of more than 45,000 residents in 15,000 households in Japan. Health status was compared between good and poor residential environments. Results showed that an improved residential environment contributed to reducing the likelihood of the onset of cardiovascular, allergic and other diseases. The annual economic benefit of improving the thermal insulation of windows for a man living alone was 7,000 JPY for example. This study contributes to promoting residents’ health by quantifying the economic benefits of the health effects of good-quality residential environments, which then contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 11.