Housing Conditions and Its Impact on Health of Residents

Housing attributes to the physical structure that provides shelter, social services with hygienic neighborhood to fulfil the essential needs of the people. Housing factors have shown to have an effect on an individual’s status of physical, mental, social and economic well-being. Indoor environmental factors such as crowding, environmental tobacco smoke, biofuel, dampness, house dust mites, temperature, age of building, pets, indoor plants affect the wellbeing and productivity of the occupants. A literature review was done on studies of housing conditions and health outcomes conducted in India and abroad from 1999 to 2020. The studies assessed the housing quality by self-reported questionnaire administered through postal, face-to-face or internet. Visual signs and non-volumetric method were used to assess indoor air quality and housing conditions, while health of residents was assessed by self-reported questionnaire, or SF-36 questionnaire. Studies conducted in United States of America, Europe, United Kingdom, Middle East, Africa and Australasia revealed that factors effecting health conditions were ventilation, dampness, presence of molds, overcrowding, house dust mite allergens, age and renovation of buildings and these factors showed association with respiratory illness, cold, cough, asthma, conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and ear infection. However, studies in India revealed that lack of proper ventilation, use of traditional fuels, crowding and poor hygienic conditions are the main factors associated with acute respiratory infection, asthma, tuberculosis, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Thus, the review highlights that there is a need to improve housing conditions in India to enable the people to lead a healthy and productive life.