Public Health Research

Healthy Homes

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Overview

  • Opportunity status:
    Open
  • Type:
    Programme
  • Opening date:
  • Closing date:
  • Reference ID:
    2024/212

Ready to apply?

Apply for this funding opportunity through our online application form

Overview 

Our Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is looking to fund research which evaluates the effectiveness of strategies to reduce the negative health impacts of poor quality housing. 

This is a two-stage, commissioned funding opportunity. To apply for the first stage you should submit an Outline Application. If invited to the second stage, you will then need to complete a Full Application.

Eligibility 

Please see our PHR Programme page and the research specification for further detail on what we will fund. 

Timeline

28 November 2024

Outline Application opening date

11 February 2025

Webinar

25 April 2025

Outline Application closing date

Mid-May 2025

Notification of decline decision if out of remit or non-competitive

Early July 2025

Outline Application shortlisting decision

Early 2025

Full Application opening date

End August 2025

Full Application closing date

November 2025

Full Application decision

Studies within a trial or review

This funding opportunity is eligible for a SWAT/SWAR (study within a trial or study within a review), which can help significantly improve methodology of future research as well as the host study. Find out about the benefits of SWATs/SWARs and how to include one in your application.

Webinar

We are holding a webinar to support applicants seeking to apply to this funding opportunity and our other commissioned funding opportunities closing on the same date. This will be held on Tuesday 11 February 2025, 13:15 - 14:30, and will focus on each funding opportunity as well as general tips for applying. There will be a Q&A at the end. To sign up, please complete our online form.

Funding applications must be submitted via our Awards Management System. Click the link below to log in to the system and start your application.

Apply now

Research specification 

Research question

  • What are the health and health inequality impacts of interventions affecting the physical quality of UK housing?

Housing is an important determinant of health. There is extensive evidence to show that good quality housing protects individual health and supports communities to be healthy and resilient. As well as the physical and mental health benefits for individuals, families and communities, good quality housing has the potential to bring wider societal benefits. These include savings in energy and carbon emissions, a reduction in the use of emergency services and health and social care service costs, increased social capital, and local job opportunities. Contrastingly, poor quality housing can have a negative impact on physical and mental health, causing or exacerbating conditions such as respiratory disease, depression and anxiety. 

The UK has the oldest and most inefficient housing stock in Europe. Over 4 million homes do not meet basic standards of decency, with the majority of these homes in the private rented and owner occupied sectors. Work carried out by The Health Foundation has found that a third of households had at least one major housing problem relating to either poor quality, overcrowding, or affordability. Older people and children are at particular risk from homes with damp and mould. In 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing found that a substantial number of homes in this sector (approximately up to 6% of four million homes) have damp and mould problems. A report by the Housing Ombudsman (.PDF) urged landlords to take responsibility for damp and mouldy homes rather than shifting the blame onto the lifestyles of tenants and their families. A 30 year cost-benefit analysis by the Building Research Establishment highlights the potential health impact of ignoring poor quality homes.

Evidence shows that there are inequalities in exposure to indoor air pollution, and people living in constrained socio-economic circumstances are at greater risk of exposure. The CMO's 2022 annual report (.PDF) highlights the need for more research on indoor air pollution.

Rising fuel and energy costs have drawn attention to the link between cold homes and health. Addressing energy inefficiencies in the home has the potential to improve health, reduce health inequalities, and mitigate climate change risks. However, the cost of living crisis could be causing delays in improvements as net zero retrofit costs become unmanageable for home owners, including landlords. Where retrofitting occurs, it may exacerbate health inequalities, and potentially lead to unintended consequences. Local authorities can face barriers to delivering net zero, including fragmented funding models.

The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is interested in applications to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to reduce the negative health impacts of poor quality housing. This funding opportunity is intended to cover the evaluation of interventions to improve the physical features of homes. Researchers who are considering submitting an application evaluating a housing intervention not covered by this brief should apply through the PHR Researcher-led workstream.

The PHR Programme is predominantly interested in the evaluation of interventions operating at a population or sub-population level rather than at an individual level, which should address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health. The PHR Programme recognises that interventions are likely to impact different (sub)populations in different ways, and encourages researchers to explore such inequalities of impact in their study design.

Of particular importance to the PHR Programme is an understanding of inequalities in the impact of interventions on people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK. Evaluations of interventions seeking to reduce health inequalities experienced by people from ethnic minority backgrounds are also of specific interest to the PHR Programme.

This funding opportunity recognises that housing interventions impacting health can act at a variety of levels, and in different ways. For example, interventions might: target different phases of development (e.g. housing design or provision); operate at various scales (e.g. individual homes, communal spaces, neighbourhoods); have different areas of focus (e.g. address environmental, social, economic, or governance issues); or target specific population groups. Taking this into account, research areas of interest could include, but are not limited to:

Physical quality

Research on the health impacts of interventions in the private and social rented sector to improve housing quality such as:

  • interventions impacting on damp, mould, ventilation, noise, privacy, safety, and access to light 
  • interventions to increase access to or improve housing-related services such as maintenance and repairs
  • interventions to support or expand access to outside, green or blue spaces
  • interventions to enhance a sense of home
  • research on the health impacts of policies that encourage or support home owners to improve the quality and/or energy efficiency of their homes
  • evaluations of the unintended consequences of improvements made to the physical quality of homes, for example, financial costs being passed on to tenants

Climate change, air quality and temperature

  • studies focused on the health impacts of housing interventions aimed at achieving net zero
  • research on the health impacts of climate change-related interventions targeted at poor quality housing/populations in greatest need
  • evaluations of housing interventions that aim to impact on temperature-related ill-health and mortality rates such as:
    • insulation interventions that are targeted at people across the spectrum of fuel poverty
    • interventions to improve winter energy efficiency
    • interventions focused on mitigating the impact of extreme heat events.
    • evaluations of interventions which impact indoor air pollution, including domestic gas usage
  • Research on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) (previously Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) climate change, net zero and housing priorities that are within remit for the PHR Programme.

Population and neighbourhood

  • research on neighbourhood-level interventions aimed at empowering communities in the resolution of housing quality issues with landlords
  • evaluations of neighbourhood and housing designs which impact on the demographic mix of a community, for example, lifetime homes and co-housing initiatives
  • research that focuses on the mental health impacts of poor quality housing
  • research that focuses on under researched population groups and/or groups where the literature identifies that more research is needed, such as older people, people with health conditions or impairments, people who need homes which are accessible for their individual circumstances, people living on low incomes, LGBTQ+ people and people with no recourse to public funds.
  • evaluations focused on the quality of housing in high density neighbourhoods

The PHR Programme recognises that this funding opportunity is broad and expects researchers to be targeted in their research. As part of their application, and with relevance to their own study, researchers need to clearly identify the gaps in the existing evidence base and how their study could improve decision making.

A range of study designs and outcome measures can be used. Researchers will need to clearly describe and justify their choice of outcomes, and target population group, as well as the rationale for their methodological approach. Researchers will need to specify how outcomes will be measured in the short, medium and long term. The PHR Programme typically requires primary outcomes to be direct health outcomes. However, for this commissioned funding opportunity, the Programme will accept proxy measures for health, for example, a decrease in indoor air pollution. Such outcome measures need to be appropriately defined and the link to health must be clearly justified.

Application guidance

Please read our Domestic Outline Application guidance to help you complete all aspects of your application. You must read this alongside the information below, which details specific requirements our PHR Programme looks for in applications. You can also check our PHR Programme page for details about the Programme’s scope and remit. 

Research Plan

Your Research Plan must be a maximum of four A4 pages. Please include the following when writing your Research Plan.

Methodology/plan

Include the below detail in your methodology/plan:

Please provide the precise aims and research questions your project will address, justifying these by referencing relevant literature. You may like to present these in a PICOST format (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome/s, Setting and Timing).

Summarise your project plan plus any additional points required to support statements made in the previous sections of your application. Include any key references required to justify the points made (for example the use of particular outcome measures or methods of analysis). 

References
Please upload one page of references in the ‘Uploads’ section of the application.

Research design

  • for primary research: clearly summarise your study design. Include all of its components (for example primary and secondary outcomes, process and economic evaluations) and relevant time points for baseline and follow-up data collection for each component. You should reference established research techniques, providing details of how exposure to the intervention will be determined or defined. You should fully explain and justify any adaptations of these for the purposes of the research proposed
  • for evidence synthesis: if you are proposing a systematic review and/or an evidence synthesis, you should provide details regarding the size of the available literature base, along with details of the search and review strategy

If your application proposes to carry out feasibility and/or pilot studies or is staged (for example, full effectiveness evaluations with a built in pilot phase), you should include clear criteria against which to judge whether progression to the next stage is justified. If you are proposing an evaluation of effectiveness, you should detail any prior scoping, feasibility and/or pilot work and, where appropriate, how the progression criteria of any feasibility and/or pilot study has been met. There are no set progression criteria to use but you should aim to explain whether the uncertainties which need to be addressed have been determined, or how they will be. This will give confidence that a full evaluation is feasible. 

Examples of progression criteria could include (but are not limited to):

  • can/did you recruit people/centres within a reasonable timespan and retain them to follow-up?
  • is/was the intervention sufficiently acceptable and feasible to implement?
  • can the intervention be delivered with reasonable fidelity?
  • do you have commitment to fund the intervention for the duration of the study?
  • can the outcome measures be measured across your target population?
  • is the underlying question still the same/has the context changed?

Please note that the criteria listed above should be used as a guide only. It does not represent a comprehensive list of all the progression criteria that should be included within an application for a feasibility/pilot study. It is also not a comprehensive list for which feasibility will need to be evidenced in an application for an evaluation of effectiveness. 

Evaluation

You should include details of the intervention(s) or policy under evaluation, such as:

  • its components and their frequency and intensity
  • theoretical basis
  • specific techniques used
  • modes of delivery
  • who will deliver the intervention 

You may like to refer to the TiDIER guidance on reporting interventions (Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR). Providing a clear description of what is being evaluated or studied is key to justifying the need, value and importance of a study. It is also essential to explain to our Funding Committee how your study design is fit for purpose. We have a broad view on what constitutes an ‘intervention’ or policy under evaluation. 

Logic Model

Please upload a 1 page logic model depicting your theory of change, to help explain the intervention being evaluated.

Control/comparator group

Please state what comparator(s) will be used in your study. Justify its appropriateness for answering the research question, and describe how it will be selected.

Study population

Which population(s) will be the target for the intervention and the participants in the research? How will the population(s) be recruited and retained?

Setting

Where will the research be undertaken and the intervention delivered?

Outcome measures

Please state and justify the primary and secondary outcome measures.

Methods for data collection

For each outcome, process or economic study component proposed, please state the source of the data that will be analysed. Where this is primary data collection, please state the quantitative and/or qualitative method used where appropriate. Where this is secondary data, please describe the characteristics of the dataset and the process by which access will be obtained.

Primary outcomes must be health related. The PHR Programme will accept proxy measures for health as long as they are appropriately defined and the link to health is clearly justified. You are encouraged to consider additional outcome measures including those relating to the broader determinants of health and health inequalities, which should be specified and justified. When describing your approach to health inequalities, please give details of relevant health inequalities related to your study; the nature of the inequality and the definition of the population groups. 

Sample size

Please describe and justify the proposed sample size for each element of the study. Justify the values used in the calculation by giving their source and/or some sensitivity around assumed values.

Data and analysis

Please detail how you will analyse each study data set. Clearly state the purpose of any analysis. You must state the proposed type and frequency of analyses including the selection of participants who will be included in the analyses. Describe any planned interim and sub-group analyses, sensitivity analysis and how missing data will be handled.

Health economics

Understanding the value of public health interventions – whether the outcomes justify their use of resources – is integral to the PHR Programme. The main outcomes for the economic evaluation are expected to include health (including health-related quality of life) and impact on health inequalities, with consideration of broader outcomes welcomed. Your economic evaluation should make clear where resources relate to different economic sectors and budgets. We encourage different approaches to economic evaluation as long as they assess the value and distributive impact of interventions. If your application does not assess distributive impact of interventions or does not include an economic component, you should provide appropriate justification.

Stakeholder engagement

You are strongly encouraged to ensure that a wide range of stakeholders are meaningfully involved in the design and planning of the research and throughout the work. Examples of stakeholders include decision-makers, commissioners, members of the public*, and people with lived experience. You might do this through involving them as costed/rewarded members of the research team. 
*Please note there is a detailed section on public involvement within your study that does not need to be repeated here.

Project timescale and milestones

Please provide a clear indication of the study timescale and dates by which key milestones should be achieved.

Flow Diagram

Please upload a one page flow diagram detailing your study timelines and milestones.

Please state how your study will be managed, and who will manage it. Refer to the roles of specific applicants as appropriate. 

Where applicable, this section should also describe how any conflicts of interest will be managed, such as involving stakeholders with a financial or non-financial interest in the intervention in the study team.

Understanding the value of public health interventions – whether the outcomes justify their use of resources – is integral to the PHR Programme, where resources relating to different economic sectors and budgets are potentially relevant. The main outcomes for economic evaluation are expected to include health (including health-related quality of life) and the impact on health inequalities as a minimum, with consideration of broader outcomes welcomed. Different approaches to economic evaluation are encouraged as long as they assess the value and distributive impact of interventions. Applications that do not include an economic component should provide appropriate justification.

NIHR welcomes partnerships between research active and other less active institutions, and those located in geographical areas of deprivation. Researchers are encouraged to explain how they will share their findings with local and regional governments, social housing providers, special interest, private sector rental and third sector housing organisations, community audiences and other relevant stakeholders. 

Research governance and ethical approval

Please indicate what research governance issues will need to be addressed in your research and state how you will seek and obtain ethical approval. You must either comply with the research ethics framework formulated by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) or obtain approval via the National Research Ethics Service (NRES). 

Please note that we will check all proposals recommended for funding which involve a clinical trial. We check for potential overlaps using WHO trials before we communicate any funding decision. Consequently, a funding recommendation may not be taken forward if a major overlap is identified at this stage. It is therefore important that you highlight any potential overlaps before your application is considered by the Funding Committee. You should then explain how you expect your proposed research will add to the body of knowledge, referring to current policy and practice.

Application process

Find out how to apply for this funding opportunity and what you need to do to get your application ready.

How to apply 

When you are ready to apply, you will need to log in to our application system to apply. This funding opportunity is on our new Awards Management System and you will need to create a new account to apply.

The closing date is 25 April 2025 at 1pm. Applications received after 1pm on the closing date will not be considered. 

Please read the following guidance before submitting an application:  

  • all the application guidance detailed in the 'Application guidance' section in this funding opportunity

Download application form template

You can download a Word document template of the application form below. Please use this template as a guide only, to help you prepare your application. For example, to see how many characters are accepted in each section and to see how information in the form is laid out. Please do not try to use this as an application form; it cannot be submitted as an application. You must submit your application online via our Awards Management System.

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Research inclusion and reasonable adjustments

At NIHR we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and communities bringing diverse skills and experiences. If you need any reasonable adjustments throughout the application process, please contact the programme team via the information in the Contact Details tab.

Research Support Service

Got a research idea and not sure how to turn it into a funding application? The free NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) supports researchers in England to apply for funding. It can help you develop and deliver clinical and applied health, social care and public health research post award.

Please speak to the NIHR Specialist Centre for Public Health (SCPH) about the design of your research as soon as possible by completing their online form. A successful application takes a long time (several months) to develop.