Aims

To provide policy makers and planners in England with an evidence informed ‘road map’ that will aid the design of housing-led systems, focusing on maximising the health impacts for people with histories of chronic/repeat homelessness.

Objectives

1. To understand the Contexts that promote/hinder the integration of different housing models as a single system to deliver rapid rehousing and improvements in health and well-being.
2. To understand the Mechanisms through which housing-led systems achieve changes in health and well-being (what works for whom, under what circumstances and how?).
3. To undertake an economic modelling exercise to understand the impacts of housing-led systems on wider public services.
4. To establish the Outcomes of housing-led systems on health and well-being: What is the impact of different housing models on morbidity and mortality outcomes and emergency and secondary care usage; and What is the population-level effect of local policies and investments in housing-led systems on healthcare use and health outcomes.

Funder

National Institute for Health and Care Research Public Health Research Programme (PHRP 21/524)

Timescale

2023 – 2026

Joint Project Leads

Prof Michelle Cornes (University of Salford and Visiting Professorial Fellow, King’s College London); and Prof Andrew Hayward (University College London)

Project team

Joanne Coombes, Jess Harris (King's College London), Robert Aldridge, Dan Lewer, Dee Menezes (University College London), Michela Tinelli, Mike Clark (London School of Economics), Jon Thurston (Southwark Council), Stan Burridge (Expert Focus; PPI Lead)

Impact / outputs

Outputs will include a final report for the NIHR journal series, peer reviewed publications, policy briefing papers, and national and international conference presentations. The ethnographic study and data linkage work will influence housing policy internationally. A toolkit will be developed based on the ‘road map’ and disseminated to local stakeholders (including people with lived experience) via regional roadshows, in partnership with the Local Government Association. This approach will bring together key stakeholders to promote local consensus for change through shared and costed implementation plans.

Read more: Press Release marking the launch of the study, March 2023. | Plain English Summary & Scientific Abstract on the NIHR pages.