The effects on health of a publicly funded domestic heating programme: a prospective controlled study

Walker, J., Mitchell, R., Petticrew, M. and Platt, S. (2009) The effects on health of a publicly funded domestic heating programme: a prospective controlled study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 63(1), pp. 12-17. (doi: 10.1136/jech.2008.074096) (PMID:18801798)

Abstract

<b>Objective</b>: To assess the effect of a publicly funded domestic heating programme on self-reported health. <b>Design, setting and participants</b>: A prospective controlled study of 1281 households in Scotland receiving new central heating under a publicly funded initiative, and 1084 comparison households not receiving new heating. The main outcome measures were self-reported diagnosis of asthma, bronchitis, eczema, nasal allergy, heart disease, circulatory problems or high blood pressure; number of primary care encounters and hospital contacts in the past year; and SF-36 Health Survey scores. <b>Results</b>: Usable data were obtained from 61.4% of 3849 respondents originally recruited. Heating recipients reported higher scores on the SF-36 Physical Functioning scale (difference 2.51; 95% CI 0.67 to 4.37) and General Health scale (difference 2.57; 95% CI 0.90 to 4.34). They were less likely to report having received a first diagnosis of heart disease (OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.52 to 0.91) or high blood pressure (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.61 to 0.97), but the groups did not differ significantly in use of primary care or hospital services. <b>Conclusions</b>: Provision of central heating was associated with significant positive effects on general health and physical functioning; however, effect sizes were small. Evidence of a reduced risk of first diagnosis with heart disease or high blood pressure must be interpreted with caution, due to the self-reported nature of the outcomes, the limited time period and the failure to detect any difference in health service use.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mitchell, Professor Rich and Walker, Ms Jennifer and Petticrew, Dr Mark
• Authors: Walker, J., Mitchell, R., Petticrew, M., and Platt, S.
• Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Centre for Population and Health Sciences
• Journal Name: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Journal Abbr.: J. Epidemiol. Com. Health
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0143-005X
• ISSN (Online): 1470-2738
• Published Online: 18 September 2008
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2009 BMJ Publishing Group
• First Published: First published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 63(1):12-17
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.