Applying an Access Framework to Studying Equity at the Intersection of Housing and Health

Lauren C.J. Barrow
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Craig Evan Pollack
Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University

In September 2019, Johns Hopkins entered into a contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Dr. Pollack to work part-time on a temporary assignment assisting the agency on housing and health issues. The views do not necessarily represent those of HUD.

Safe and affordable housing in well-resourced neighborhoods is a cornerstone of health and well-being. Too often, however, such housing is in short supply, resulting in worse health and increased healthcare spending. HUD’s Learning Agenda seeks to answer key questions on the role of housing and health, asking the fundamental question: How can HUD best address the health needs of people in its assisted housing programs and bring housing assistance to those for whom lack of housing is a major barrier to health? Underlying this question, the Learning Agenda seeks to apply an equity lens, recognizing that housing and health are not evenly distributed in our society. This report describes a framework of access, which has been developed to understand medical care utilization, to help examine questions of equity at the intersection of housing and health.