Affordable housing and health: a health impact assessment on physical inspection frequency
Elizabeth G Klein1, Brittney Keller, Nancy Hood
1Health Behavior & Health Promotion (Dr Klein and Ms Keller), Ohio State University College of Public Health, Columbus; Impact Supportive Services, CPO Management, Columbus, Ohio (Dr Hood); and Research and Strategic Planning, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Columbus (Dr Holtzen).
Objectives:
To characterize the prevalence of health-related housing quality exposure for the vulnerable populations that live in affordable housing.
Design:
Retrospective cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Affordable housing properties in Ohio inspected between 2007 and 2011.
Participants:
Stratified random sample of physical inspection reports (n = 370), including a case study of properties receiving multiple inspections (n = 35).
Main Outcome Measures:
Health-related housing factors, including mold, fire hazard, and others.
Results:
The majority of affordable housing property inspections (85.1%) included at least 1 health-related housing quality issue. The prevalence of specific health-related violations was varied, with appliance and plumbing issues being the most common, followed by fire, mold, and pest violations. Across funding agencies, the actual implementation of inspection protocols differed.
Conclusions:
The majority of physical inspections identified housing quality issues that have the potential to impact human health. If the frequency of physical inspections is reduced as a result of inspection alignment, the most health protective inspection protocol should be selected for funding agency inspections; a standardized physical inspection tool is recommended to improve the consistency of inspection findings between mandatory physical inspections in order to promote optimum tenant health.
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