Measuring deterioration of small-area housing environment: Construction of a multi-dimensional assessment index and validation in shared refugee accommodation.

ABSTRACT: Housing is an important health determinant, in particular for asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) living in state-provided accommodation and struggling for residential autonomy. However, few validated objective measurement tools exist to measure housing quality in the sense of the deterioration of the housing environment. We aimed to construct and validate an instrument to enable resource-efficient monitoring of and health research on such housing quality. After considering existing theoretical frameworks on housing effects on health, we constructed an easily applicable tool measuring the degree of "Small-area Housing Environment Deterioration" (SHED), based on the "Broken Windows" - index. In a validation study, we tested SHED index's objectivity and reliability, measuring inter-/intra-rate

SUBMITTER: Mohsenpour A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7788238 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature