A pilot study on the impact of a first-time central heating intervention on resident mental wellbeing

Abstract

Fuel poverty affects around 34% of European homes, representing a considerable burden to society and healthcare systems. This pilot study assesses the impact of an intervention to install a new first time central heating system in order to reduce fuel poverty on household satisfaction with indoor temperatures/environment, ability to pay bills and mental well-being. In Cornwall, 183 households received the intervention and a further 374 went onto a waiting list control. A post-intervention postal questionnaires and follow-up phone calls were undertaken ( n = 557) to collect data on household demographics, resident satisfaction with indoor environment, finances and mental well-being (using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale). We compared responses between the waiting list control and intervention group to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. A total of 31% of participants responded, 83 from the waiting list control and 71 from the intervention group. The intervention group reported improvements in the indoor environment, finances and mental well-being. However, these benefits were not expressed by all participants, which may result from diverse resident behaviours, lifestyles and housing characteristics. Future policies need to consider whole house approaches alongside resident training and other behaviour change techniques that can account for complex interactions between behaviours and the built environment.

Do the Determinants of Mental Wellbeing Vary by Housing Tenure Status? Secondary Analysis of a 2017 Cross-Sectional Residents Survey in Cornwall, South West England

“…Living circumstances, such as dissatisfaction with housing (LC1) and experiencing fuel poverty (LC3), were only found to be associated with poorer mental wellbeing among residents of privately owned and rented properties [ 45 ]. Those who were privately renting and reported problems with neighbourhood conditions, such as homelessness (NC32) and dogs in the area (NC39), or who felt the local sport and leisure facilities needed improving (NC22), reported poorer mental wellbeing.…”

“…As with previous studies, living circumstances were found to be associated with mental wellbeing in the present study [ 11 , 17 , 46 , 47 ]. However, while fuel poverty and housing conditions are recognised as significant determinants of health, their impact on mental wellbeing was found to be limited to residents of privately owned and rented properties [ 45 ]. It is possible that private rental landlords may be less likely to invest in the property [ 28 , 48 ], which may explain this differential impact on wellbeing.…”

“…Despite social housing residents having lower incomes and being more likely to have some health problems, this tenure group has generally attracted more investment, to raise the standard of housing and make the homes more affordable to heat. However, these interventions have resulted in variable health outcomes, with some resulting in adverse impacts on mental health, respiratory, and cardiovascular outcomes [ 28 , 45 , 48 ]. This is thought to result from a combination of resident behaviours, awareness levels, and inadequate heating and ventilation, despite interventions to make homes more affordable.…”

“It’s changed my life not to have the continual worry of being warm” – health and wellbeing impacts of a local fuel poverty programme: a mixed-methods evaluation

“…However, it is recognised that it is very difficult to design a truly comparable group of participants to act as a comparator in such small-scale evaluations [ 32 ]. It is suggested that future studies consider a stepped intervention design with a “waiting list control group” [ 33 ]. Nonetheless, the current evaluation compared outcomes for beneficiaries of different types of intervention and conducted a qualitative investigation to explore beneficiaries’ experiences of how the programme has impacted on their health and wellbeing; initial literature searches suggest a need for further research on this issue.…”

Who is vulnerable to energy poverty in the Global North, and what is their experience?

“…The impact is felt in the additional costs associated with cooling and heating, as well as through a knock on effect on overall budgets for other needs such as food (De Vries & Blane, 2013; Gouveia et al, 2019; Nord & Kantor, 2006; Thomson et al, 2019). The condition of the housing stock in the place in question is also important: levels of insulation and state of repair of housing have a direct effect on levels of energy poverty, as well as the associated impacts (Peralta et al, 2017; Poortinga et al, 2017; Sharpe et al, 2020; Tonn et al, 2021). The presence or absence of heating and cooling infrastructures in particular places also shapes energy poverty, with some nations having limited access to central heating or cooling technologies (Gómez‐Navarro et al, 2021).…”