Evaluating the impact of PHLHousing+ on reducing health disparities

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The objective of the PHLHousing+ Evaluation is to test whether unconditional, monthly cash payments made directly to tenants increases housing security and thereby reduces health disparities for low-income renters who, in the city of Philadelphia, are disproportionately Black. This objective is aligned with the strategic aim of NINR to understand which pandemic-era housing policies would best be continued to advance health equity. The PHLHousing+ Evaluation comprises three groups, all of whom earn below 50% area median income and have at least one child under the age of 16 years living at home: 270 households who receive monthly cash payments in lieu of a rental voucher (Cash group), 225 households who are eligible for (or currently using) a rental voucher (Voucher group), and 789 households on the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) waitlist who will not be offered a rental voucher for the foreseeable future because of their randomized position on the waitlist (Control group). Of the 1,284 households in the study, 82.5% are headed by single women and 82.8% are Black. There are 2,678 children in the sample, ranging in age from 1 to 19 years (median = 10, IQR = 5- 15). Monthly cash payments range from $89 to $2079, with a median payment of $881; payments vary based on household income, family size, and fair market rent. Households in the Cash group will receive monthly payments for 2.5 years. All three groups are surveyed every six months for three years via an online survey; the first wave of surveys was deployed in August 2022. Existing surveys include measures of self-reported mental and physical health and hospital utilization for adults and children. We propose to extend these data in three ways: (1) by extracting electronic health record (EHR) data on emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions linked to our survey respondents; (2) by administering brief, monthly surveys that will increase participant retention between biannual surveys and will measure mood and health-promoting behaviors that might be pathways by which PHLHousing+ promotes positive health outcomes; and (3) by linking household addresses with census-based data on neighborhood opportunity and Philadelphia Police Department crime data. Aim 1 is to test whether rental assistance (Cash + Voucher vs. Control) or type of assistance (Cash vs. Voucher) is associated with self-reported mental and physical health and with affective volatility and health-promoting behaviors. Aim 2 is to test whether the availability or type of rental assistance is associated with ED use or hospital admissions as recorded in EHR, specifically for problems that are disproportionately associated with housing insecurity (e.g., mental health problems). Aim 3 is to test whether availability or type of rental assistance is associated with exposure to housing problems (e.g., pests, mold), access to neighborhood opportunity, or exposure to crime. Study findings will have immediate implications for the City of Philadelphia's model for providing housing assistance, will inform efforts to establish similar programs in other cities, and will inform federal approaches to rental assistance.