New research into optimising health, equity and safety for people in social housing

New social and public housing research led by Swinburne University of Technology, in collaboration with Connect Health & Community, Star Health, Merri Health, Peninsula Health and Bendigo Community Health Services, offers unabashed insight into the situations many Victorians found themselves in during the pandemic.

The High-Risk Accommodation Response program was co-designed by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and community health providers across the state, to engage with and respond to the needs of vulnerable communities during the multiple COVID peaks and outbreaks in these settings. The voices of more than 800 residents reveal the challenges, their fears, and the strength and resilience that helped many residents prevail, despite significant adversities.

High risk accommodation response resident, Georgie, spoke to Swinburne researchers for the study

Research for those often left behind

The study, Actions to address health literacy and equity in social housing in Victoria, led by Dr Shandell Elmer of the Centre for Global Health and Equity, sought to understand residents’ health literacy, including what they knew and had been told about COVID-19 and keeping safe. The study also worked with frontline community health workers to uncover what they did to understand residents’ requirements and assist them.

At times when the risk of being infected with Covid-19 was ever-present, for some people, their daily struggles with social, economic and physical conditions, including family violence, poverty, food insecurity, loneliness, drug and alcohol use, took precedence. A key finding of the research is that local community health services are critical for successful communication and engagement in these settings.

“Research is critical to effective communication and meaningful engagement with people living in these settings,” says Dr Elmer.

“So many people are left out or being left behind because they don’t have easy access to health information that they can understand or health services that they can reach. We found that one size doesn’t fit all, and that people need tailored, targeted and trusted communication to help them engage with information and services.”

Residents have profoundly diverse needs and flexibility of both the range of services, and ways to access these services, contributes to receiving the right service. The project has had immediate impact on many residents through enabling frontline workers to better understand the needs of the residents, assess whether services were meeting their requirements and realign services and delivery while operating within a major public health emergency.