The Watcombe Housing Study: the short term effect of improving housing conditions on the health of residents.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the short term health effects of improving housing.

DESIGN

Randomised to waiting list.

SETTING

119 council owned houses in south Devon, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

About 480 residents of these houses.

INTERVENTION

Upgrading houses (including central heating, ventilation, rewiring, insulation, and re-roofing) in two phases a year apart.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

All residents completed an annual health questionnaire: SF36 and GHQ12 (adults). Residents reporting respiratory illness or arthritis were interviewed using condition-specific questionnaires, the former also completing peak flow and symptom diaries (children) or spirometry (adults). Data on health service use and time lost from school were collected.

RESULTS

Interventions improved energy efficiency. For those living in intervention houses, non-asthma-related chest problems (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.005) and the combined asthma symptom score for adults (Mann-Whitney test, z = 2.7, p = 0.007) diminished significantly compared with control houses. No difference between intervention and control houses was seen for SF36 or GHQ12.

CONCLUSIONS

Rigorous study designs for the evaluation of complex public health and community based interventions are possible. Quantitatively measured health benefits are small, but as health benefits were measured over a short time scale, there may have been insufficient time for measurable improvements in general and disease-specific health to become apparent.