Healthy homes, healthier lives: Linking health, housing and social care services for older people

Abstract

The Government's drive to improve the overall health of the population, by tackling health inequalities and measures such as reducing falls and ending fuel poverty, has created a policy framework to address the housing related aspects of health. Opportunities for the NHS and local authorities to work with the voluntary sector to achieve these aims mean that there are new possibilities for wide‐ranging, innovative responses to improving people's health by tackling housing issues.Care & Repair England has undertaken research which examines how home improvement agencies (HIAs) are working with health‐sector partners to bring about health improvement through housing‐related initiatives and services.The resulting report, Healthy Homes, Healthier Lives, brings together key evidence that demonstrates the beneficial impact of improved housing conditions on health and examines the current policy context. A spectrum of joint projects is profiled including schemes providing information and training for health and care sector staff, a range of joint approaches to falls prevention, hospital discharge services and initiatives to address fuel poverty and cold, damp housing.