They find that gentrification was associated with increased social deprivation for Black people, Hispanic people, and people of other races. When people in these groups were residents of gentrifying neighborhoods, they had worse health outcomes than White and Asian residents.
Noting the limitations of race-neutral policies, the authors call for community investments that incorporate a structural racism framework to reverse the effects of a legacy of racism.
In 2018, Brigham Health in Boston, Massachusetts, developed a social care program for patients receiving care at its primary care sites who were experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
Among the findings are that defining and pricing housing services within the Medicaid program is complex and that housing is the most expensive service domain within the program.
Sandra Newman and coauthors analyze experimental data from housing voucher programs in two cities and find that voucher recipient families experience less stress, likely because of relief from financial pressure and improved housing conditions.
During the two-year study period, those assigned to the program had “significantly more office-based care for psychiatric diagnoses, fewer [emergency department] visits, more unique prescription medications, and greater use of other health care.”
Mir Ali and coauthors find that large disenrollments from TennCare in 2005 led to about a 25 percent increase in eviction filings and completed evictions in Tennessee compared with other southern states in the subsequent five years.
Among veterans included in the study, the assistance “reduced the risk for housing instability for slightly more than one year after entering [the program], with the effect peaking at…forty-five days and diminishing thereafter.”
Eva Laura Siegel and coauthors investigate indicators of energy insecurity in New York City. Black non-Latino and Latino residents, renters, recent immigrants, and households with children had higher levels of energy insecurity than others, and residents with three or more indicators of energy insecurity had higher odds of respiratory, mental health, and cardiovascular conditions.
Millions in the United States experience housing instability (the continuum between homelessness and stable, secure housing), which can threaten their health and well-being.
The February 2024 issue of Health Affairs explores health across a range of housing policy areas, centered around health equity; highlights best practices and lessons learned by communities across the country; and identifies potential policy interventions.
You are invited to join us on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) for a virtual forum at which authors will present their work, engage in discussion, and answer questions on these important issues. Panels include:
Communities And Neighborhoods
Health Sector Interventions
Homelessness
Housing Costs, Quality, and Stability
Register and learn more about the participating speakers below!
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
