Housing and Health: A Roadmap for the Future

Millions of Americans experience housing instability – the continuum between homelessness and stable, security housing – which threatens their health and well-being. The economic distress brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue and the health concerns that come along with it. By partnering with other community stakeholders to address housing insecurity, hospitals and health systems have an opportunity to improve health equity for their patients and community.
 

Housing and Health: A Roadmap for the Future examines the impact of housing instability on individuals’ health and outlines opportunities and avenues for hospitals to reduce housing instability in their communities. This tool shares strategic considerations for how to tailor a housing strategy to meet community needs and case examples of how hospitals are addressing housing instability during COVID-19.
  

AHA Resources on Housing and Health

Making the Case for Hospitals to Invest in Housing. This issue brief shares initial findings from the Accelerating Investments for Healthy Communities initiative, which is helping hospitals refine their community investment strategies around affordable housing. 

Housing and Role of Hospitals. This guide examines how hospitals can address housing issues in their communities and includes case studies of hospital-driven housing initiatives. 

Voices on Value with Doug Jutte, M.D. In this Voices on Value podcast, Doug Jutte, M.D., M.P.H., executive director of the Build Healthy Places Network, discusses how hospitals can work at the intersection of health and community development to improve equity.

Societal Factors that Influence Health: A Framework for Hospitals. This resource guides hospitals’ strategies to address the social needs of their patients, social determinants of health in their communities and the systemic causes that lead to health inequities so the entire field can have meaningful conversations around these issues.