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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Off the radar?
— Addressing housing disrepair to improve health in later life | | Author(s) | Susan Marie Adams |
| Journal title | Working with Older People, vol 21, no 4, 2017 |
| Publisher | Emerald, 2017 |
| Pages | pp 224-228 |
| Full text* | http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/WWOP-06-2017-0014 |
| Annotation | This paper aims to highlight the pivotal role of initiatives that address housing disrepair, home improvements and adaptations as a way of improving health, independence and quality of life in older age. The author uses data from housing and health, combined with her experience of policy formulation as well as working with older people and developing practical services, particularly those which address private sector housing stock condition. As well as its massive economic impact, housing greatly affects people's health and well-being, not only in later life but across the life course. In England, there is a long history of systematic, government backed action to improve and maintain housing stock condition. There are significant economic and social gains from a coherent national response to addressing private sector housing disrepair, including creation of employment opportunities, economic stimulus through enabling best use of assets, as well as health and social care gains. In addition to increasing housing supply through building much needed new homes, existing housing stock disrepair needs once again to be "on the radar" of policy makers operating across health, social care and housing. Concerted action to make homes safe, healthy places to live in later life, whatever an older person's tenure, requires vision and innovation and is an essential element in the integration of health, social care - and housing. With significant funding constraints in local authorities, especially for adult social care, and in the context of growing pressures on the NHS, sustaining good health in later life is more important than ever. There is a compelling case for cross-sector action to reduce health hazards in ordinary, private housing, given that 79 per cent of older people who live in non-decent homes are owner occupiers. This is an opportune moment for Health and Wellbeing Boards to take a lead on this issue at a local level, as well as time to put housing stock condition back "On the Radar" of national government policy. In order to extend healthy later life for the majority of older people who live in mainstream housing, there is a need to embed practical housing services in the emerging integrated health and care systems. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-171103209 A |
| Classmark | KE: 5SA: 5P6: CC: F:59: TM2 |
| *Online access to the full text may require a payment |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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information about this article, and many others, can be found on the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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