Our work Improving Evidence News News In this section we highlight current research funding calls specifically for housing, health, care and ageing research, plus relevant newly published research and reports. Care & Repair England is keen to contribute to development of housing and ageing research proposals related to its priority areas - current housing stock (condition, adaptation, improvement) and links to the health, wellbeing, independence and care of older occupants. It can support research bids and disseminate important findings, so please do not hesitate to contact Martin Hodges [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN CALLS Please email [email protected] if you know of any new/forthcoming relevant Calls NIHR PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme are accepting expressions of interest from Local Authorities that have initiatives in need of research and evaluation. The shortlisted Expressions of Interest will be given to the NIHR Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams (PHIRST) to co-produce the research. Local Authorities in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are invited to submit an expression of interest to propose specific initiatives within their work programmes that would benefit from research or evaluation input. Full details here on the NIHR site DEADLINE: 1pm on 10th January 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECENT CALLS EPSRC and NIHR funding for research into ‘Transforming care and health at home and enabling independence’ Researchers were invited to apply for funding (up to £10m) for a multidisciplinary project enabling people to transform their care and health and be more independent. Full details of the call can be found here on the UKRI Funding Finder Deadline for submission of Expression of Interest was 16:00 on October 7th. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESEARCH/ REPORTS New BRE Study shows poor housing costs NHS £1.4 billion p.a. New analysis by the Building Research Establishment quantifies the annual costs to the NHS of poor quality and hazardous housing at £1.4 billion. This rises to £18.5 billion p.a. when wider societal costs are included (long term care, mental health etc.). The most common housing hazards are causing falls injuries on stairs (over 1 million p.a. reported) The most expensive housing hazard for the NHS is excess cold, costing £857 million p.a. Falls and excess cold are particularly dangerous for older people, who live in nearly half (2 million) of all non-decent homes (predominantly homeowners) The new report, The Cost of Poor Housing in England, reveals that 2.6 million homes in England - 11% of England’s total housing stock - are categorised as ‘poor quality’ and hazardous to occupants. BRE was able to quantify the cost of poor housing to the NHS by combining data from the 2018 English Housing Survey (EHS) on health and safety hazards in the home, with the latest NHS treatment cost figures. The new report follows a similar study by BRE published in 2016. BRE recommend that further research is undertaken to inform a full 30 year cost-benefit analysis of the impact of improving poor housing in England. [November 2021] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home adaptations supporting everyday life for people with dementia: Evidence review This scoping review explores the contribution of housing adaptations to supporting everyday life for people with dementia living at home in the community. Evidence from the review found that the most common adaptations were recommended and/or implemented to compensate for a person's physical limitations and for safety reasons, rather than adaptations to support activities of daily living for a person with dementia. Support to implement adaptations was provided by a range of professionals coupled with ‘trial and error’ approaches adopted by the person themselves, and these were seen as key enablers. Barriers to implementing and using adaptations were: 1. Access to information 2. Knowing when to make changes 3. Carer resistance 4. Home unsuitable The evidence review indicates that housing adaptations have a positive impact on both the person with dementia and the carer (where one is present), with some adaptations having a relatively sustained impact and being particularly effective if implemented early in the lived trajectory of dementia. ARTICLE IN AGEING AND SOCIETY JOURNAL Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 Nov 2021 (free to download) Exploring the contribution of housing adaptations in supporting everyday life for people with dementia: a scoping review (2021) Rita Newton, Sue Adams, John Keady, Emmanuel Tsekleves [November 2021] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home adaptations have the power to reduce the incidence of falls and resulting hospital admissions A new study has concluded that the national home adaptation service run by Care & Repair Cymru (C&R Cymru) successfully identified older people at the highest risk of falling at home, and that the home adaptations subsequently installed reduced the risk of falls and resulting A&E attendance/ hospital admissions. The research, led by the University of Swansea, involved examining the health data of more than 650,000 older adults (60 -95 years) living in Wales between 2010–2017 of whom 123,729 received the C&R Cymru home adaptation service. Key findings: People identified and helped by the C&R Cymru service were almost twice as likely to have had a hospital admission related to a fall than non-clients prior to home modification. For these at-risk older people helped by C&R Cymru the incidence of falls resulting in A&E attendance/hospital admission was lower compared to the control group who did not receive the adaptation service There was a reduced risk of care home admission for people with a moderate or severe level of frailty receiving a C&R Cymru intervention over a 1,3, and 5 year period. This study demonstrates the value of home adaptations in supporting more frail and vulnerable older people to live safely for longer in their homes, as well as benefits to the NHS. BSG Journal Article: https://academic.oup.com/ageing/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ageing/afab201/6399893 [November 2021] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good Homes Inquiry – Findings published The Centre for Ageing Better have published the findings of their Good Home Inquiry. The report highlights the health risks to 10 million people living in non-decent homes and calls for urgent action to address this dire situation. The Inquiry’s findings highlight the disproportionate impact of non-decent homes on older people, especially disadvantaged older homeowners. The recommendations include a call for a cross-government housing strategy with a ministerial champion to lead on implementation and the creation of a ‘Good Home Agency’ in every local area to provide access to information and advice about repairs, energy efficiency and retrofitting, as well as supporting residents with paying for and finding trusted tradespeople to carry out repairs. [October 2021] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New study shows minor adaptations highly cost effective for preventing falls in the home Minor home modifications costing c. £300 per property reduced home fall injury rates by around a third, according to the findings of a new study [published in The Lancet]. The three-year randomised control trial, carried out in New Zealand, involved installation of low-cost home modifications followed by tracking of falls injury rates amongst the intervention and control groups. The main findings revealed a 31% reduction in home fall injury rates per year in the intervention group and a 40% reduction in falls injuries specific to the intervention (previous study values were 26% and 39% respectively). This is considered a highly cost-effective intervention for falls injury prevention as the average cost of the home modifications was approximately £300 per dwelling*. STUDY DETAILS: Keall D et al (2021) Home modifications to prevent home fall injuries in houses with Māori occupants (MHIPI): a randomised controlled trial DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00135-3 [September 2021] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Housing Survey: New Topic Reports and linked Data Tables Following on from the EHS Headline Report 2019-20 earlier in the year, in depth analysis of specific aspects of housing, alongside related Annex Tables, has now been published. There are topical subject reports covering Home adaptations, Home ownership, Private rented sector, Social rented sector, Energy, Wellbeing and neighbourhoods, Feeling safe from fire. The Home adaptations report reveals that of the 1.9 million households in England which included one or more people with a health condition that required adaptations to their home, 1 million (53%) of these households did not have all the adaptations that they needed. This is an increase since 2014-15 when 45% (864,000) of households that required adaptations lacked one or more of the adaptations they needed. [July 2021] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Housing Policy and Poor Quality Homes This research undertaken by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Research and commissioned by the Centre for Ageing Better, draws upon an extensive review of previous initiatives designed to address the problem of poor quality housing to generate a series of recommendations to support a coordinated response to improve the quality of housing, involving national and local government, other public bodies, voluntary and community sector agencies, and the private sector. [May 2021]