Promoting health and advancing development through improved housing in low-income settings

Abstract

There is major untapped potential to improve health in low-income communities through improved housing design, fittings, materials and construction. Adverse effects on health from inadequate housing can occur through a range of mechanisms, both direct and indirect, including as a result of extreme weather, household air pollution, injuries or burns, the ingress of disease vectors and lack of clean water and sanitation. Collaborative action between public health professionals and those involved in developing formal and informal housing could advance both health and development by addressing risk factors for a range of adverse health outcomes. Potential trade-offs between design features which may reduce the risk of some adverse outcomes whilst increasing the risk of others must be explicitly considered. © 2012 The New York Academy of Medicine.