Physical and mental health impacts of housing improvement: A quasi-experimental evaluation of in-situ slum redevelopment in India

Abstract

The present study conducted a quasi-experimental, pre-post evaluation to investigate the influence of housing redevelopment of informal settlements on residents’ health and well-being and to identify the role of improvement in housing quality in health impacts. In total 125 women from three housing settlements in India (intervention and wait-listed control groups) participated in the study before and after redevelopment of their settlements. In the intervention group, an informal settlement housing was replaced with low-height apartment-style housing at the same site, resulting in improved housing quality. The study measured physical health, mental health, and quality of life scores of women before and after housing redevelopment, and concurrent housing quality improvement, and compared them to a wait-listed informal settlement. The health and quality of life scores improve two-and-a half years post-redevelopment in the intervention group in comparison to their pre-redevelopment scores. Health also improved in the wait-listed group but only for a subgroup which saw housing quality improvement. Further analysis shows that improvement in housing quality explains the change in health post-redevelopment, thus providing evidence for salutary impacts of improving housing quality.