The purpose of the Healthy Homes Initiative Outcomes Evaluation is to determine whether the Healthy Homes Initiative (HHI) programme has improved health and social outcomes for families who have taken part, and if it offers value for money. This report details an interim analysis that includes an overview of health outcomes and indicative savings to the health sector in the first year after HHI service for the referred child only.
As at December 2018, the Healthy Homes Initiative (HHI) programme has received 15,330 eligible referrals and delivered over 40,000 interventions to low-income households. These are estimated to have resulted in 1,533 fewer hospitalisations, 9,443 fewer GP visits and 8,784 fewer filled prescriptions in the first year after the programme’s intervention.
The savings to the health care system due to these reductions are estimated to be approximately $10.4 million. In total, the HHI programme is expected to avert approximately $30 million in health care costs over a 3-year period. The return on investment is expected to be less than two years.
This initial analysis is based only on health outcomes from the first year after intervention and only for the referred child. In reality, the benefits will be realised by all household members, and are likely to be long term. Restricting this analysis to just the major health effects for one child per household underestimates the effects of the HHIs. The more detailed extension to this evaluation of the HHIs will capture a broader range of outcomes across a more representative sample of referrals to inform future developments in the delivery of housing and health interventions.