Hong Kong Population Needs Improved Housing and Better Health
Poor housing worsens both physical and mental health, especially for the socially disadvantaged households living in tiny and crowded places or subdivided flats under the greatest housing unaffordability in Hong Kong. The pressing call is echoed in President Xi’s speech in July calling for bigger and more affordable homes for Hong Kong people and a greater state role in addressing the issue.
Poor housing worsens both physical and mental health, especially for the socially disadvantaged households living in tiny and crowded places or subdivided flats under the greatest housing unaffordability in Hong Kong. The pressing call is echoed in President Xi’s speech in July calling for bigger and more affordable homes for Hong Kong people and a greater state role in addressing the issue.
International review shows that individuals living in a crowded household have higher risk of infectious diseases and mental health problems, while local studies reveal associations of household crowding with various adverse health outcomes such as hypertension, anxiety, and stress.
Our recent commentary published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific has also emphasized that household crowding, broadly defined as the number of occupants exceeding the capacity of the available dwelling space in terms of rooms or floor area, is linked to health inequality in Hong Kong. Household crowding is highly sensitive to one’s socioeconomic position, living conditions, and the neighbourhood environment, which could be an indicator to monitor health inequalities in Hong Kong.
It is commendable that the Chief Executive John Lee in his first Policy Address announced the minimum size requirement of no less than 26 square metres for newly built subsidized flats (except 1 and 2-person units) and the planned introduction of Light Public Housing (LPH) to increase housing supply and shorten waiting time for public housing.
Substantial impact is anticipated as close to 50% of the Hong Kong population live in public rental or subsidized housing. If designed and implemented properly, these initiatives can potentially alleviate household crowding by offering relatively larger flats or rehousing residents in subdivided flats to LPH, thereby partially mitigating the existing health inequalities.
To achieve maximum impact of these measures, we suggest the government conducts a health impact assessment, similar to environmental impact assessment, at the stage of design and implementation to investigate how the health of residents, especially the disadvantaged, would be affected, and how their needs could be better addressed.
The impact of social determinants of health – conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping these conditions of daily life – on population health and associated inequalities in Hong Kong is evidenced in reports by the CUHK Institute of Health Equity. We hope to see more positive moves to improve the health of people, with housing as a first step.
Prof. Gary Chung, Research Assistant Professor, Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Richard Lee, Functional Manager, Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
This article with revised version was published on South China Morning Post.
