“There’s a housing crisis going on in Sydney for Aboriginal people”: focus group accounts of housing and perceived associations with health

Abstract

BackgroundPoor housing is widely cited as an important determinant of the poor health status of Aboriginal Australians, as for indigenous peoples in other wealthy nations with histories of colonisation such as Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand. While the majority of Aboriginal Australians live in urban areas, most research into housing and its relationship with health has been conducted with those living in remote communities. This study explores the views of Aboriginal people living in Western Sydney about their housing circumstances and what relationships, if any, they perceive between housing and health.MethodsFour focus groups were conducted with clients and staff of an Aboriginal community-controlled health service in Western Sydney (n = 38). Inductive, thematic analysis was conducted using framework data management methods in NVivo10.ResultsFive high-level themes were derived: the battle to access housing; secondary homelessness; overcrowding; poor dwelling conditions; and housing as a key determinant of health. Participants associated their challenging housing experiences with poor physical health and poor social and emotional wellbeing. Housing issues were said to affect people differently across the life course; participants expressed particular concern that poor housing was harming the health and developmental trajectories of many urban Aboriginal children.ConclusionsHousing was perceived as a pivotal determinant of health and wellbeing that either facilitates or hinders prospects for full and healthy lives. Many of the specific health concerns participants attributed to poor housing echo existing epidemiological research findings. These findings suggest that housing may be a key intervention point for improving the health of urban Aboriginal Australians.

Housing conditions associated with recurrent gastrointestinal infection in urban Aboriginal children in NSW, Australia: findings from SEARCH

“…These caveats notwithstanding, SEARCH is the largest urban Aboriginal child health cohort in Australia to date and this study contributes new information about the links between housing and gastrointestinal infection for urban Aboriginal children – an under‐researched field. The associations found are biologically plausible, substantial, significant and largely consistent with existing knowledge 10,27,29 . The findings also support recent qualitative research conducted with Aboriginal people in Western Sydney, who asserted that poor housing conditions were negatively affecting the health of urban Aboriginal children, including through gastrointestinal infection 29 .…”

“…The associations found are biologically plausible, substantial, significant and largely consistent with existing knowledge 10,27,29 . The findings also support recent qualitative research conducted with Aboriginal people in Western Sydney, who asserted that poor housing conditions were negatively affecting the health of urban Aboriginal children, including through gastrointestinal infection 29 . Research examining associations between housing and other health outcomes for urban Aboriginal children and adults is indicated, along with high quality housing intervention studies to examine whether improved housing conditions result in improved health outcomes for urban Aboriginal people.…”

“…In Australia, significant associations have been identified between poor housing conditions and gastrointestinal infection for Aboriginal children living in remote communities 16,26 and in one Aboriginal child health cohort study with a relatively small proportion of urban children 27 . The majority of Australian Aboriginal children live in urban areas 9 and, while housing disadvantage is common for urban Aboriginal families, 9,12,13,28 little is known about possible links between housing conditions and gastrointestinal infection for urban Aboriginal children 27,29 …”

The impact of racially-motivated housing discrimination on allostatic load among Indigenous university students

“…Motz et al (2019) used the same dataset examined in the present study and found racially-motivated housing discrimination in the past year was associated with increased PTSD symptomology among Indigenous university students; particularly intrusive recollection [11]. In Australia, housing was described as a pervasive source of stress affecting the health of the whole Indigenous community in a city [6]. While social networks were used to avoid primary homelessness, participants indicated that discrimination directed at Indigenous people was contributing to long wait lists for social housing [6].…”

The Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH): a long-term platform for closing the gap

“…They reported difficulty accessing housing, secondary homelessness, overcrowding and poor dwelling conditions. 22 Issues reported included damp and mould, major structural problems, vermin, crowding, poor dwelling security, and affordability problems. 23 NSW Health has a long-standing innovative Housing for Health program that uses a structured approach to improve Aboriginal community housing stock primarily in rural and remote areas.…”