Grealy Liam, Su Jiunn-Yih, Thomas David
Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0810, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 May 26;22(6):836. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22060836.
This article examines Healthy Homes, a program intended to initiate a new approach to housing repairs and maintenance in remote communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. It argues that while the evidence for associations between poor housing and poor health outcomes is clear, greater attention should be paid to the implementation of health-focused housing interventions. Healthy Homes was examined through interviews with public servants, Aboriginal community-controlled organisation staff, and householders, alongside participant observation during maintenance projects and Condition Assessment Tool inspections. Routine housing, inspections, and expenditure datasets were also analysed. Across 5498 houses subject to Healthy Homes and over a twenty-month period, only 1315 Condition Assessment Tool inspections were completed, which is the key mechanism for generating preventive maintenance work. Expenditure on repairs and maintenance was stable between the old maintenance model and under Healthy Homes. Most Healthy Homes remote housing maintenance contracts were awarded to Aboriginal business enterprises. This article finds that Healthy Homes did not effectively shift remote property management to prioritise preventive maintenance. Issues with data collection and monitoring, program implementation, and contractual arrangements impeded more consistent and effective attention paid to the condition of housing health hardware. Future investment into the implementation of health-focused remote housing preventive maintenance programs must attend to the details of program design, including the data collection processes and contractual terms for service providers.
本文考察了“健康家园”项目，该项目旨在为澳大利亚北领地偏远社区开创一种房屋维修与保养的新方法。文章认为，尽管住房条件差与健康状况不佳之间存在关联的证据确凿，但应更加关注以健康为重点的住房干预措施的实施情况。通过与公务员、原住民社区控制组织工作人员和住户进行访谈，以及在维修项目和状况评估工具检查期间进行参与观察，对“健康家园”项目进行了考察。还分析了常规住房、检查和支出数据集。在为期20个月的时间里，“健康家园”项目涉及的5498所房屋中，仅完成了1315次状况评估工具检查，而这是开展预防性维修工作的关键机制。旧维修模式与“健康家园”项目下的维修和保养支出保持稳定。大多数“健康家园”偏远地区房屋维修合同授予了原住民商业企业。本文发现，“健康家园”项目并未有效转变偏远地区物业管理模式，以优先开展预防性维修。数据收集与监测、项目实施及合同安排方面的问题阻碍了对房屋健康硬件状况给予更一致、有效的关注。未来对以健康为重点的偏远地区住房预防性维修项目实施的投资，必须关注项目设计细节，包括数据收集流程和服务提供商的合同条款。
