Housing Instability Worsens Health Outcomes

Astronomical rent and home prices are driving the ever-worsening affordable housing crisis. A newly published article in JAMA Network Open explores the link between housing instability and health outcomes, finding that displacement and unsafe living situations related to unaffordable housing are tied to worse mental and physical wellbeing.

According to Sara Heath, “Compared with people who got to stay put completely, people who had cost-driven moves saw a 4.2-percentage point higher likelihood of experiencing moderate psychological distress and a 3.2-percentage point higher likelihood of experiencing severe psychological distress. Outcomes suffered when it came to physical health, as well. Those with cost-driven moves were 2.5 percentage points more likely to have an emergency department visit, 5.1 percentage points less likely to have a preventive care visit, and 3.7 percentage points less likely to rate their own health as good or very good.”

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(Source: Patient Engagement HIT, March 16^th, 2023)