Types of Healthy Settings
Healthy Homes
Background
The Healthy Homes programmes are not as well-established as other Healthy Settings approaches. While WHO is supporting the development of healthy living environments and minimization of indoor health hazards, Healthy Homes programmes are often mentioned as part of broader Healthy Cities initiatives or other health promotion agendas rather than specifically being referred to.
The WHO Region of the Americas has published guidance on minimizing the risk from some household hazards. Conferences occurring in the WHO European and African Regions note Healthy Housing or Healthy Home working groups making recommendations for the focus of future efforts. Most notes call for more research into correlations between housing and public health as well as increased community awareness of the importance of healthy living spaces.
In EURO, evidence reviews, policy support and implementation recommendations have been made in the area of neighbourhood design, thermal comfort/excess winter deaths, domestic injuries, and housing regulations / building codes. A programme on the development of Local Housing and Health Action Plans will provide a basic methodology for the use of local authorities to assess the housing and health priorities within their cities.
Examples of implementation
Twenty-two countries in the WHO Regions of the Americas have Healthy Housing initiatives with constituted or in-progress national networks to promote the sharing of best practices or information regarding implementation and evaluation in any of the regions.
Resources
- WHO African Region - The Windhoek Healthy Cities Workshop
- WHO Region of the Americas - Healthy Homes Manual
- WHO Region of the Americas - Bulletin, Healthy Housing (2005)
- EURO WHO
Networks
- WHO Region of the Americas - Health in Housing Programme
- WHO Region of the Americas - Health in Housing List
- WHO Region of the Americas - Regional Initiative Programmatic Guide
- EURO WHO LARES Network