SynthesisAmerican journal of public health2009
The health impacts of housing improvement: a systematic review of intervention studies from 1887 to 2007.
Synthesis in American journal of public health, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03194958 (Helping the Poor Quit Smoking), which is not on this map. Cited by 93 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Helping the Poor Quit Smoking: Specialized Quitlines and Meeting Basic Needs
Who cites it
93 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Evaluating the health effects of place-based slum upgrading physical environment interventions: A systematic review (2012-2018).Social science & medicine (1982) · 2020Pooled it
- The relationship between buildings and health: a systematic review.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2019Pooled it
- Epidemiology of adult overweight recording and management by UK GPs: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2017Pooled it
- Social determinants of depression and suicidal behaviour in the Caribbean: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2017Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Health Economic Analyses of Housing Improvement Interventions and Insecticide-Treated Bednets in the Home.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- Economic analysis of the health impacts of housing improvement studies: a systematic review.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2013Pooled it
- Environmental interventions to reduce fear of crime: systematic review of effectiveness.Systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Housing improvements for health and associated socio-economic outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- How robust is the evidence of an emerging or increasing female excess in physical morbidity between childhood and adolescence? Results of a systematic literature review and meta-analyses.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2013Pooled it
- Health and well-being outcomes from a non-health population-level intervention: the impact of home upgrades in Victoria, Australia.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2025Trial
- Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades.BMJ open · 2025Trial
- House screening with insecticide-treated netting provides sustained reductions in domestic populations of Aedes aegypti in Merida, Mexico.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Trial
- Enhancing ventilation in homes of children with asthma: cost-effectiveness study alongside randomised controlled trial.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Trial
- Enhancing ventilation in homes of children with asthma: pragmatic randomised controlled trial.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Trial
- Suicide prevention in primary health care among socially vulnerable populations: a narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Intimate partner violence and the dual burden of anxiety and depression among women in Zambia: Spatial inequalities and implications for the sustainable development goals.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- Health and health equity in policymaking across sectors: Identifying opportunities and challenges in implementing Health in All Policies.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2025Article
- Associations between floor material andbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Effects of household concrete floors on maternal and child health: the CRADLE trial - a randomised controlled trial protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWe conducted a systematic review of the health impacts of housing improvement.
methodsForty-two bibliographic databases were searched for housing intervention studies from 1887 to 2007. Studies were appraised independently by H. T. and S. T. or E. S. for sources of bias. The data were tabulated and synthesized narratively, taking into account study quality.
resultsForty-five relevant studies were identified. Improvements in general, respiratory, and mental health were reported following warmth improvement measures, but these health improvements varied across studies. Varied health impacts were reported following housing-led neighborhood renewal. Studies from the developing world suggest that provision of basic housing amenities may lead to reduced illness. There were few reports of adverse health impacts following housing improvement. Some studies reported that the housing improvement was associated with positive impacts on socioeconomic determinants of health.
conclusionsHousing improvements, especially warmth improvements, can generate health improvements; there is little evidence of detrimental health impacts. The potential for health benefits may depend on baseline housing conditions and careful targeting of the intervention. Investigation of socioeconomic impacts associated with housing improvement is needed to investigate the potential for longer-term health impacts.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.