Public Health Archives -

Addressing housing and health inequalities

September 17, 2021September 21, 2024 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

I had the opportunity to present on Housing and Health Inequalities to the Bureau Local UK Network of the Bureau of Investigate Journalism. My central argument was that health has to be put at the centre of our discussions about the built environment. We know that there are issues with housing in the UK. But it goes far beyond merely building more homes. Eighty percent of the homes we'll be living in in 2050 have already been built. It's critical to public health, to reducing our carbon emissions, that we address the challenges associated with substandard and energy inefficient homes. And it pays dividends. The argument that this is all too expensive is nonsensical given the very real costs associated with doing nothing. Here's a copy of the slides I presented.... Addressing housing and health inequalitiesDownload...

Smart Home Tech to Support People’s Needs

November 12, 2020June 11, 2021 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

I had the pleasure of chairing the fifth in The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) series on Healthy Living and Housing. The focus for this session was on smart home tech to support people’s needs. You can access the session by clicking the link here and registering to watch on demand. Speakers for this session included: Alisa Frik, Research Scientist, International Computer Science Institute; Postdoctoral Fellow for Berkeley Laboratory for Usable and Experimental SecurityNuno Almeida, Founder, Nourish CarePhilip Shelton, Principal Advisor (Commercial), Eastern Academic Health Science Network Perspectives on privacy and security Alisa discussed older people’s perspectives on privacy and security. This included reference to how older people make decisions about privacy and security with respect to smart home devices. What we know is that at present, much of the adoption of smart home tech is driven by older people’s children, and care providers, to support care needs. And it remains the case that a high proportion of older adults don’t have access to the internet. Alisa noted that...

Healthy Living and Housing

July 29, 2020January 4, 2021 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

I had the pleasure of chairing a webinar for The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on Healthy Living and Housing. This was the first of a six part series looking at the interplay between our lived environments and our health. You can access the session by clicking the link here, and registering. The next session is on 16 September and examines health and home in the context of care homes and community care. Speakers for this session included Julie Godefroy, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers Dr Richard Miller, Connected Places Catapult Annalise Johns, Connected Places Catapult Dr Helen Crampin, InnovateUK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDnI9pWYbA Clip from The IET's EngShorts series covering many of the points raised in this discussion. What we know and don’t know about the impact of the built environment Julie provided an overview of the role of CIBSE and their recent guidance, Health and wellbeing in building services. The focus of the guidance is on the effects of the built environment on health, comfort...

The impact of housing on health (Part 2)

July 27, 2020November 16, 2020 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

In the previous article I touched on some of the evidence emerging of the impact of housing on health during lockdown. The issues with poor housing stock are certainly not new and follow years of a lack of investment. This issue has become all the more acute during lockdown and could provide real impetus for change. Moving forward, there are real opportunities to affect positive change – at both the local and national levels. There is strong local case to be made for urgent community engagement, action and investment, as we move from the national to regional and local lockdowns. I also want to provide a few reflections on just some of the recent government announcements with regards to the property sector. Local considerations There are clear indications that the negative physical and mental health impacts for those living in homes that fail to meet decent housing standards, coupled with factors such as overcrowding or isolation, have been exacerbated by the closure of many...

The impact of housing on health (Part 1)

July 23, 2020November 16, 2020 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

Our homes and neighbourhoods are critical factors in our health and wellbeing. This has very much come to the fore during lockdown. In this two part series, first I touch on the current and emerging evidence of the impact of housing on health. I then put forward suggestions for where action is needed, now and in the longer term at both local and national levels. The context Disparities in living conditions have become all the more apparent during lockdown. Nearly a third, 31% of adults in Britain (15.9 million people) have had mental or physical health problems during lockdown as a result of poor quality and/or overcrowded housing (National Housing Federation, 2020a). Unless there is urgent change, this picture will only get worse as we move to targeted local lockdowns. In response to this crisis, the National Housing Federation has launched a campaign, #HomesAtTheHeart. The aim is to put social housing at the heart of national economic and social recovery by investing in...

Integrating health and housing

September 20, 2019August 16, 2020 by Sophie Taysom Comment Closed

Does housing affect health? We know in the UK that there is a significant shortfall in housing. The Housing Federation puts this figure as an annual shortfall of 340k homes a year just to meet requirements. In addition to this, many people live in unhealthy or unsuitable homes, or live in precarious situations. These factors can have a significant and detrimental impact on health outcomes. And there are some people who are particularly vulnerable – babies and children, people with disabilities, and older people. This is not just about housing, but also public health. How do we integrate health and housing? This was the question to kick off a webinar discussion in July facilitated by Ethan Williams, researcher at the King’s Fund. Panelists included: Rachel Toms - Programme Manager, Healthy Places, Public Health England Rachael Byrne - Executive Director, New Models of Care, Home Group Vic Rayner - Executive Director, National Care Forum This report has been updated following the publication of Creating...