Quality of housing among patients of an area mental health service.

Objectives: The aims of the present study were to (i) assess the quality of housing for patients receiving treatment from an area mental health service; (ii) compare estimates of quality of housing using two different methods: housing type versus housing characteristics; (iii) determine whether either method for assessing quality is more useful that a combination; and (iv) examine the relationship between housing quality and case manager's assessment of the impact of the housing on the patient's mental disorder.

Methods: A survey was developed that included the demographics of the patient; housing type; living arrangements; housing characteristics as assessed by the patient's case manager; and an overall assessment by the case manager of the impact that the housing has on the patient's mental disorder. Case managers were asked to complete the housing survey on all patients they saw in the community during a 2 week period in 2003. The social worker for the inpatient unit completed the survey for all patients admitted to the inpatient unit over a 3 month period.

Results: Surveys were completed for a total of 362 patients. Just under 10% of patients were identified as homeless in that the person either had no housing or was living in a shelter or accommodation frequently associated with homeless persons. Almost half of the patients in the sample had housing that was either not affordable, not secure, not safe or not appropriate to their needs, that is, their housing met at least one of a range of criteria defining poor-quality housing. Sixty-one patients (16.9%) had housing that was considered by their case managers to have a substantial negative impact on their mental illness.

Conclusions: Almost half of the patients treated by an area mental health service appeared to have poor-quality housing. Housing characteristics identified a higher proportion of people with poor-quality housing than did housing type. Case managers' assessments generally failed to identify a potential negative impact of poor quality housing on the person's mental disorder.