Older people in England living in poor housing are more likely to experience early onset of long-term care needs, according to new research from the London School of Economics.

In the paper, “Early onset of care needs in the older population: the protective role of housing conditions“,  Dr Javiera Cartagena Farías considers privately-owned, rented and social housing in a study of 8,000 adults aged 50 years or older living in England. The study includes the analysis of information on care needs, formal and informal care services received, and housing-related information, as well as socio-demographic characteristics of individuals and area deprivation levels.

Researchers found that those living in poor housing are more likely to experience early onset of care needs. People privately renting or in social housing are also more likely to experience early onset of care needs, and the combination of housing conditions may have an effect on when care needs start to develop.

The research goes on to find that improving housing quality offers an opportunity to prevent the development of care needs. Stating that a lack of suitable housing means people are moving to residential care prematurely, or are staying in hospital unnecessarily rather than recovering in their homes.

Dr Javiera Cartagena Farías, research fellow at the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) and lead author of the paper, said: “This paper shows that housing conditions may play a role in preventing long-term care needs for older people. Facilitating ageing in place has meant helping older people to remain in their homes, but it is important to highlight that quality housing cannot be taken for granted.”