The Maritime Community Housing Study is exploring the impact of social or subsidized housing on the physical and mental health of households in New Brunswick. This research will fill critical gaps in our understanding of how housing affects our well-being.
Housing and health are closely related, with housing being one of the key social determinants of health. Living in unaffordable housing can be harmful to both physical and mental health. Social housing aims to make rent more affordable, but many households face long waitlists to access it. There is also limited information on the health of folks waiting for or living in social housing.
The Maritime Community Housing Study (also known as the NB Housing Study) aims to address this knowledge gap. In partnership with Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development, households on New Brunswick’s social housing waitlist were invited to complete surveys every 6 months while they waited for social housing. These surveys covered important topics including physical health, mental health, neighborhood satisfaction, and social support. For those who moved into social housing during this period, the surveys continued for up to another 18 months to examine how the transition impacts their health. With participants’ consent, the research team will link survey responses to medical records to better understand healthcare use.
Research on housing and health is limited in Canada, especially in New Brunswick. Our study aims to fill this gap by providing valuable insights about an underserved population. Forthcoming findings can be used by policymakers, healthcare providers, and community organizations.
The academic paper for this study, titled NB Housing Study protocol: Investigating the relationship between subsidized housing, mental health, physical health and healthcare use in New Brunswick, Canada, can be found here.
By Allyson Lamont
Allyson (she/her) is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at UNB. She graduated from UNB Saint John with a Bachelor of Science in Biology-Psychology (Honours in Psychology) in 2021 and with a Master's in Psychology in 2022. Her research interests are in the social determinants of mental health and she is particularly interested in studying how experiencing food insecurity relates to mental health and the use of mental health services.
