A study of the factors that affect health-related quality of life among residents of low-income housing in Mott Haven in the Bronx, NY

Abstract Background New York City has recorded a historically low supply of housing affecting disproportionally low-resourced areas, including the Bronx. Affordable housing buildings are being built, however, little is known about the quality of life of residents living in affordable housing, nor what the impact of housing is on their quality of life or health. Methods A pilot cross sectional study without a comparison group was conducted, to characterize the health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) of residents from an affordable housing development located in Mott Haven, in the South East area of the Bronx in NYC. It also examined the impact of individual, health-related and housing domains of physical and mental health HRQoL outcomes. Data was collected on two occasions at two affordable housing developments. Descriptive statistics, contingency table analysis, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare SF-12 v2® variables across the levels of 14 predictor variables categorized into 3 domains: demographics, housing, and health status. In addition, each of the SF-12 v2® scales and subscales was analyzed in a multiple regression framework to estimate Cohen’s f2 effect size statistics on these domains. The SF-12v2® was scored by the PRO CoRE software. Results The total sample was of 188 residents self-idenitifed with the following characteristics: 79% were females; 67.3% were older than 35 years; 58.0% were Hispanics; 57.4% have more than a high school education, while 12.2% have less than a high school education; 53.5% were single-parent households; 21.6% were two parents households with dependents that are minors; and 37.3% had an annual income of less than $15,000. The statistically significant results show that having a disability and a greater number of morbidities are associated with having a lower HRQoL in the Physical Composite Summary (PCS) and Mental Composite Summary (MCS), and in all of their subscales. Aging showed to be statistically significant in the PCS and its subscales. The regression analyses indicate that the health status domains have the highest effect on HRQoL subscales for physical and mental health, and the lowest size effect was on the housing domain. Conclusion This study serves as a baseline to increase the understanding on how to study the relationship between housing and HRQoL. Results suggest that older adult residents, those with multiple co-morbidities, and with disabilities need to be prioritized when developing interventions or programs in housing developents. This pilot investigation is among the few that focuses on housing developments in the Bronx and has the potential to inform how to develop housing developments with a focus on promoting health and the well-being of their residents.