Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40010814›Full record

Trial reportBMJ open2025

Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades.

Katie Page, Lutfun Hossain, Dan Liu, Yo Han Kim, Kerryn Wilmot, Patricia Kenny, Margaret Campbell, Toby Cumming, Scott Kelly, Thomas Longden and 4 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Why climate action is an opportunity multiplier for mental health.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Katie PageUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia katie.page@uts.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9183-9175
Lutfun HossainUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Dan LiuUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Yo Han KimUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Kerryn WilmotUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Patricia KennyUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Margaret CampbellUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Toby CummingSustainability Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Scott KellyUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Thomas LongdenWestern Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
Kees van GoolThe University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Rosalie VineyUniversity of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP) Team
Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP)

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe Victorian Healthy Homes Program investigated the impact of thermal home upgrades on energy and health outcomes in vulnerable, older individuals over winter in Victoria, Australia.

designA staggered parallel-group randomised control trial design of 984 (764 per protocol (PP)) vulnerable households and 1313 (1015 PP) individuals. The intervention group received their upgrade prior to their winter of recruitment, and the control group received their upgrade after the winter of their recruitment.

settingWestern Melbourne (metropolitan) and the Goulburn Valley (regional) in Victoria, Australia.

participants1000 households were recruited: 800 from western Melbourne (metropolitan) and 200 from the Goulburn Valley (regional).

interventionA thermal comfort and home energy efficiency upgrade of up to $AUD3500 per household. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in indoor temperature over winter and the secondary outcomes were changes in quality of life, healthcare use and costs, self-reported health measures, energy use and costs and humidity.

resultsA relatively low-cost and simple home upgrade (average cost $A2809) resulted in reduced gas consumption (-25.5 MJ/day) and increased indoor winter temperatures (average daily increase of 0.33°C), and a reduction of exposure to cold conditions (<18°C) by an average of 0.71 hours (43 min) per day. The intervention group experienced improved mental health as measured by the short-form 36 mental component summary and social care related quality of life measured by the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, less breathlessness and lower overall healthcare costs (an average of $A887 per person) over the winter period.

conclusionsThe home upgrades significantly increased average winter indoor temperature, improved mental health and social care-related quality of life and made householders more comfortable while yielding reductions in overall healthcare use and costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618000160235.

Indexed as

HousingAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeSeasonsVictoriaHealth ServicesHealth Services for the AgedPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresPUBLIC HEALTHQuality of LifeRandomised Controlled Trial

Identifiers

PMID40010814
PMCPMC11865758

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.