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https://theconversation.com/eradicating-mould-would-save-millions-in-health-care-costs-how-our-homes-affect-our-health-260311>
"Housing is a key determinant of physical health. Housing conditions can
increase or reduce the risk of problems including respiratory illness, heart
disease and injury.
Improving housing conditions would see an improvement in health at the
population level and reduce health-care costs.
In a study yet to be peer-reviewed, our research team has estimated eradicating
mould and damp in Australian housing could cut health expenditure by A$117
million per million people, and increase income by $174 million. These figures
represent 0.5%–2.1% of annual health spending and 0.08%–0.36% of gross domestic
product.
We also estimated tackling mould and damp could result in an extra 4,190
health-adjusted life years (the number of years a person can expect to live in
good health) per million people over 20 years. This is equivalent to about 1.5
healthy days per person. We’d see the greatest gains among people who are most
disadvantaged.
In Australia and several similar countries, the conditions and location of many
people’s homes are heavily influenced by housing affordability and the failure
of successive governments to treat housing as a human right. Instead, it’s
often been treated as a wealth-generating asset.
But it’s time to change things. The significant effects of poor housing on
health, and a growing body of evidence indicating healthier homes could lead to
tangible improvements, build a strong case for prioritising healthy housing
policy in Australia."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
