What do housing wealth and tenure have to do with it? Changes in wellbeing of men and women after divorce using Australian panel data

A decade of research on housing and health: a systematic literature review

This paper provides a systematic review of the evidence linking housing and health. This involved a review of 59 peer-reviewed journal papers, that included case studies on the health impacts of housing and were published in English, in the past decade (2010-2020). Our systematic review of the literature suggested most of the research on the health impacts of housing employed quantitative methodology, were conducted in the Global North and were published in Medical and Health Sciences journals. Research findings demonstrated four key areas through which housing impacts health: neighbourhood or context, physical building, housing market and housing policy. This paper provides valuable information to researchers for future research directions on the associations between housing and health and to decision-makers and planners for planning healthy cities.

Gender-based inequalities in the effects of housing on health: A critical review

Gender and its power relations are produced and reproduced in the housing sphere, leading to inequalities in living conditions and, therefore, in gender inequalities in health outcomes. The aim of the study is to review the published literature on gender, housing and health, to critically evaluate the incorporation of the gender perspective, and to incorporate this perspective into the conceptual framework of housing and health. Using the critical review method, we conducted a literature review in MEDLINE, Scopus, WOS and Redalyc, without restriction of publication date, including studies published up to October 2020. We analyzed the gender perspective in health research using the Gender Perspective in Health Research Questionnaire and described the results according to main housing dimensions. Of the 20,988 articles identified, we selected 90 for full-text analysis, of which 18 were included in the feminist research category, 27 in gender-sensitive, 31 in sex difference and 14 did not include any gender perspective. Regarding the association between housing and health, most studies analyzed affordability (36%) and physical conditions (32%), and trends in health outcomes by gender varied according to each exposure analyzed, although overall the effects were worse for women and non-binary or trans people. To date, very few studies consider the gender perspective. It is urgent to address gender relations in housing and health studies, and to open an interdisciplinary and intersectoral agenda to address this complex relationship.

The double burden of poverty and marital loss on the mental health of older Australian women; a longitudinal regression analysis using 17 annual waves of the HILDA cohort

PURPOSE

Compared to men, older women have poorer mental health and are more vulnerable to poverty, especially when living alone. However, few studies have examined how gender, marital status and poverty are inter-related and are associated with mental health. This study examines the gendered associations between relative poverty, marital status and mental health in older Australians.

METHODS

Drawing on 17 waves of the HILDA Survey, fixed-effects longitudinal regression analysis was utilised to examine the association between: (1) relative poverty (< 50% median household income) and mental health (MHI-5); (2) marital status and poverty, in a cohort of Australians aged 65 + years. We then examined effect modification of the association between relative poverty and mental health by marital status.

RESULTS

Within-person associations, stratified by gender, showed that women in relative poverty reported poorer mental health than when not in relative poverty, however no association was observed for men. Being divorced/separated was associated with increased odds of relative poverty for women, but not men. Widowhood was strongly associated with relative poverty in women, and also among men, albeit a smaller estimate was observed for men. There was no evidence of effect modification of the relationship between relative poverty and mental health by marital status for either men or women.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence that relative poverty is a major determinant of mental health in older Australian women. Addressing gender inequities in lifetime savings, as well as in division of acquired wealth post marital loss, may help reduce these disparities.

Female perspectives on housing quality and household characteristics, perceptions and challenges: Evidence from Australia

Electroplated composite Au/SiO2 coatings on a nickel substrate have been produced by dispersing an emulsion of silica nanoparticles (20 nm in diameter) in an industrial hard-gold bath. The tribological behaviour of the Au/SiO2 coatings with different SiO2 content were investigated under sliding conditions against an alumina counterpart at different loads and sliding velocities. The tribological induced transformation of the coated surfaces were analysed using 3D-profilometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused-ion beam (FIB) cross sectioning and Auger electron epectroscopy (AES). The composite coatings provide higher hardness and ten-fold longer lubricating lifetime compared to the original hard gold coating. Hardness was identified as a key factor reducing the adhesive component of friction and increasing the resistance of gold against smearing. These effects allow to postpone the exposure of the nickel substrate and thus the loss of the self-lubricating character of the coating.