Abstract
Background: Green building systems have proliferated but health outcomes and associated costs and benefits remain poorly understood. Objective: To compare health before and after families moved into new green healthy housing with a control group in traditionally repaired housing. Design and Setting: Mixed methods study in 3 Chicago housing developments. Participants: Public housing and low-income subsidized households (n = 325 apartments with 803 individuals). Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported health status, visual assessment of housing condition, indoor air sampling, and Medicaid expenditure and diagnostic data. Medicaid expenditures and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes were modeled using a generalized linear model with γ distribution and log-link. Results: Housing conditions and self-reported physical and mental health improved significantly in the green healthy housing study group compared with both the control group and the dilapidated public housing from which the residents moved, as did hay fever, headaches, sinusitis, angina, and respiratory allergy. Asthma severity measured by self-reported lost school/work days, disturbed sleep, and symptoms improved significantly, as did sadness, nervousness, restlessness, and child behavior. Medicaid data in this exploratory study were inconclusive and inconsistent with self-reported health outcomes and visual assessment data on housing quality but hold promise for future investigation. Possible sources of bias in the Medicaid data include older age in the study group, changes in Medicaid eligibility over time, controlling for Medicaid costs in an urban area, and the increased stress associated with moving, even if the move is into better housing. Conclusion: The mixed method approach employed here describes the complex relationships among self-reported health, housing conditions, environmental measures, and clinical data. Housing conditions and selfreported physical and mental health improved in green healthy housing. Health care cost savings in Medicaid due to improved housing could not be quantified here but hold promise for future investigations with larger cohorts over a longer follow-up period.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 345-354 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Public Health Management and Practice |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Asthma
- Built environment
- Energy conservation
- Green construction
- Health
- Hope VI
- Housing
- Medicaid
- Public housing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
Moving into green healthy housing. / Jacobs, David E.; Ahonen, Emily ; Dixon, Sherry L.; Dorevitch, Samuel; Breysse, Jill; Smith, Janet; Evens, Anne; Dobrez, Doborah; Isaacson, Marjie; Murphy, Colin; Conroy, Lorraine; Levavi, Peter.
In: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Vol. 21, No. 4, 01.01.2015, p. 345-354.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Moving into green healthy housing
AU - Jacobs, David E.
AU - Ahonen, Emily
AU - Dixon, Sherry L.
AU - Dorevitch, Samuel
AU - Breysse, Jill
AU - Smith, Janet
AU - Evens, Anne
AU - Dobrez, Doborah
AU - Isaacson, Marjie
AU - Murphy, Colin
AU - Conroy, Lorraine
AU - Levavi, Peter
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Background: Green building systems have proliferated but health outcomes and associated costs and benefits remain poorly understood. Objective: To compare health before and after families moved into new green healthy housing with a control group in traditionally repaired housing. Design and Setting: Mixed methods study in 3 Chicago housing developments. Participants: Public housing and low-income subsidized households (n = 325 apartments with 803 individuals). Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported health status, visual assessment of housing condition, indoor air sampling, and Medicaid expenditure and diagnostic data. Medicaid expenditures and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes were modeled using a generalized linear model with γ distribution and log-link. Results: Housing conditions and self-reported physical and mental health improved significantly in the green healthy housing study group compared with both the control group and the dilapidated public housing from which the residents moved, as did hay fever, headaches, sinusitis, angina, and respiratory allergy. Asthma severity measured by self-reported lost school/work days, disturbed sleep, and symptoms improved significantly, as did sadness, nervousness, restlessness, and child behavior. Medicaid data in this exploratory study were inconclusive and inconsistent with self-reported health outcomes and visual assessment data on housing quality but hold promise for future investigation. Possible sources of bias in the Medicaid data include older age in the study group, changes in Medicaid eligibility over time, controlling for Medicaid costs in an urban area, and the increased stress associated with moving, even if the move is into better housing. Conclusion: The mixed method approach employed here describes the complex relationships among self-reported health, housing conditions, environmental measures, and clinical data. Housing conditions and selfreported physical and mental health improved in green healthy housing. Health care cost savings in Medicaid due to improved housing could not be quantified here but hold promise for future investigations with larger cohorts over a longer follow-up period.
AB - Background: Green building systems have proliferated but health outcomes and associated costs and benefits remain poorly understood. Objective: To compare health before and after families moved into new green healthy housing with a control group in traditionally repaired housing. Design and Setting: Mixed methods study in 3 Chicago housing developments. Participants: Public housing and low-income subsidized households (n = 325 apartments with 803 individuals). Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported health status, visual assessment of housing condition, indoor air sampling, and Medicaid expenditure and diagnostic data. Medicaid expenditures and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes were modeled using a generalized linear model with γ distribution and log-link. Results: Housing conditions and self-reported physical and mental health improved significantly in the green healthy housing study group compared with both the control group and the dilapidated public housing from which the residents moved, as did hay fever, headaches, sinusitis, angina, and respiratory allergy. Asthma severity measured by self-reported lost school/work days, disturbed sleep, and symptoms improved significantly, as did sadness, nervousness, restlessness, and child behavior. Medicaid data in this exploratory study were inconclusive and inconsistent with self-reported health outcomes and visual assessment data on housing quality but hold promise for future investigation. Possible sources of bias in the Medicaid data include older age in the study group, changes in Medicaid eligibility over time, controlling for Medicaid costs in an urban area, and the increased stress associated with moving, even if the move is into better housing. Conclusion: The mixed method approach employed here describes the complex relationships among self-reported health, housing conditions, environmental measures, and clinical data. Housing conditions and selfreported physical and mental health improved in green healthy housing. Health care cost savings in Medicaid due to improved housing could not be quantified here but hold promise for future investigations with larger cohorts over a longer follow-up period.
KW - Asthma
KW - Built environment
KW - Energy conservation
KW - Green construction
KW - Health
KW - Hope VI
KW - Housing
KW - Medicaid
KW - Public housing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938084349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84938084349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000047
DO - 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000047
M3 - Article
C2 - 24378632
AN - SCOPUS:84938084349
VL - 21
SP - 345
EP - 354
JO - Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
JF - Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
SN - 1078-4659
IS - 4
ER -