Policy Approaches to Improving Housing and Health

Our plain-English summary of Policy Approaches to Improving Housing and Health, by W.C. Tilburg (The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2017).

The study

• Author: W.C. Tilburg
• Journal: The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
• Published: 2017;45(1_suppl):90-93
• Cited by: 11 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Safe and healthy housing conditions are critical to improving population health, particularly for the most vulnerable - young children, senior citizens, and individuals with chronic illnesses and disabilities - who spend more time at home and are more susceptible to illness and injury. Across the country, millions of Americans are exposed to lead, radon, asbestos, volatile organic compounds, pests, mold, carbon monoxide, and tobacco smoke in the home, affecting the air they breathe and the water they drink. These household hazards are also associated with a wide range of illnesses and injuries, including asthma, cancer, falls, respiratory infections, and mental health issues. Legal and policy interventions can assist communities grappling with the adverse impacts of poor housing conditions and improve the health and safety of all residents, including vulnerable populations.

In plain English

This article is a short policy commentary by an attorney, not an original research study, and it reports no new data. The author described how the 2007-2009 U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was followed by less spending on home repairs and a rise in inadequate housing, using figures from other sources such as the American Housing Survey and the CDC. Asbestos appeared only once, listed with lead, mold and radon as examples of environmental toxins in "unhealthy" housing. The article gave no data on asbestos exposure or asbestos-related disease. The health figures it cited concerned lead, asthma, falls, radon and secondhand smoke. The author highlighted three low-cost measures: rental property registration, health impact assessments, and smoke-free multiunit housing. As an example, the article cited a Maryland Department of the Environment report that the state's rental "Lead Law" program reduced the number of children with elevated blood lead levels from 11,000 per year to less than 400 per year. The author concluded that communities can meet the challenge through low-cost measures that encourage property owners to build and maintain affordable, safe, and healthy housing.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Policy commentary (conference article); not an original study
• Who was studied: No study population; the article discusses U.S. housing conditions using figures drawn from other sources, such as the American Housing Survey
• Exposure: Household hazards in general. Asbestos is mentioned only once, as one example of an environmental toxin in unhealthy housing. No fiber types, products or doses are discussed.
• Main results:
  • The article described three low-cost measures. The first was rental property registration, which identifies rental properties and sets up periodic inspections.
  • The second measure was health impact assessments, which evaluate the potential health effects of proposed projects and policies, including effects on housing.
  • The third measure was smoke-free policies in multiunit housing.
  • Cited from a Maryland Department of the Environment report, not this article's own finding: Maryland's rental property registration Lead Law program reduced the number of Maryland children with elevated blood lead levels from 11,000 per year to less than 400 per year.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that communities can meet the challenge of providing sufficient affordable and safe housing by implementing effective low-cost measures that encourage property owners to build and maintain affordable, safe, and healthy housing.

Related studies

• Development of a multidimensional housing and environmental quality index (HEQI): application to the American Housing Survey — M.T. Chu, A. Fenelon, et al. (2022)
• Effect of heat stress amelioration through open-ridge ventilated thatched roof housing on production and reproduction performance of crossbred Jersey cows — D.K. Mandal, A. Mandal, et al. (2021)
• Indoor asbestos levels on a housing estate (determined by transmission electron microscopy) — D. Gazzi, G.W. Crockford (1987)
• Asbestos: scientific developments and implications for public policy — B.T. Mossman, J. Bignon, et al. (1990)
• Naturally occurring asbestos: a recurring public policy challenge — R.J. Lee, B.R. Strohmeier, et al. (2008)
• Asbestos-associated diseases. Science, public policy, and litigation — H. Weill (1983)

Browse return to medical research.