The Government's Healthy Homes Initiative has brought significant health and social benefits to families, reducing hospital admissions and cutting the number of days children miss school through illness, an evaluation of the programme has found.
The report analyses the impact on families for up to five years after they received support through the Healthy Homes Initiative to help deal with dampness and mould in their homes.
It was released by the Minister of Health, Dr Shane Reti, at Kōkiri marae in Wellington on Friday.
Nevil Pierse
The senior author, Professor Nevil Pierse, from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke, says the analysis found a more than 18 per cent reduction in the rate of hospital stays per person in the five years after a family received support, compared to the previous five years. This translates to an estimated 10,000 fewer hospital admissions a year.
School absences for medical reasons were down five per cent, or more than 5,000 days a year across all the children whose families received support from the Healthy Homes Initiative. Whānau also visited GPs less, with the analysis showing an estimated 14,000 fewer doctor visits in each of the five years after they got assistance from the programme. Less illness in the family meant adults earned more. Income from wages was up in the 12 months after they received support, with a corresponding decrease in benefit income.
The Healthy Homes Initiative was set up in 2013 as part of the Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme. It was later expanded and now operates nationwide, with the goal of increasing the number of children living in warm, dry, and healthy homes and reducing avoidable hospitalisations and ill health due to housing-related conditions. It is funded by Health NZ and delivered by providers across the country.
Families are able to get a range of products through the programme, including portable heaters, beds and bedding, mould-cleaning kits, draught proofing and floor coverings, and can be assisted to have insulation and heat pumps installed through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority's Warmer Kiwi Homes programme.
Professor Pierse says the Healthy Homes Initiative has helped more than 200,000 people since it was set up.
"It has had a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of whānau living in poor-quality housing.
"Early intervention keeps children out of hospital and in school."
He says the initiative is saving the Government a significant amount of money, providing a five-year return on investment of 507 per cent, with $5.07 in health savings for every $1 spent by Health NZ.
"The Healthy Homes Initiative is having a long-term impact on the wellbeing of whānau, while producing an impressive return on investment to the public healthcare sector. We estimate the initiative saves the healthcare system about $300 million in the first five years after an intervention.
"In addition to these impressive returns from improvements in health outcomes, there are social co-benefits, including more days at school for kids and higher employment earnings for those of working age."
He says the programme is an example of social investment working well.
"The programme is meeting its goals of improving the health and wellbeing of whānau in Aotearoa through smart financial investment in community-led holistic housing interventions.
"Our analysis suggests the programme continues to have an impact for at least five years after whānau receive support through the initiative."
The five-year outcomes evaluation report expands on previous work in 2019 and 2022, examining the impact of the initiative over a longer time frame and a larger population and is the first to include data from all regions in Aotearoa.
'The Healthy Homes Initiative: Five year outcomes evaluation' is authored by Nevil Pierse, Ellie Johnson, Amelia Guha Thakurta, and Elinor Chisholm from the University of Otago, Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke and can be read here.
The work was funded by Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora, the Accident Compensation Corporation and Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities.
