Building Health into Homes: Early impact and growing momentum

An update on progress

Since launching Building Health into Homes in June, we've seen strong engagement from occupational therapists, system leaders, policymakers and partner organisations. 

We set out to show how occupational therapy can help unlock the connection between housing and health, and support earlier action to help people live safely, independently and well at home. The response so far suggests that this message is resonating across health, housing and social care. 

Strong demand for the resources 

Since launch, the Building Health into Homes resources have been downloaded more than 1,200 times. 

The Practitioner Toolkit has been particularly well received and is now the third most downloaded resource on the RCOT website since its publication. 

This level of interest reflects a growing recognition that housing is relevant across all occupational therapy practice. Every person an occupational therapist works with lives somewhere, and their home can have a significant impact on their health, wellbeing and participation. The popularity of the resources suggests that occupational therapists are looking for practical ways to bring housing conversations into everyday practice.  

If you haven't explored the resources yet, download them to see how they could support your own practice and conversations with the people you work with. 

Reaching new audiences 

A key aim of the project has been to bring together people working across health, housing and social care. Since June, RCOT has led or contributed to five events focused on sharing the resources and supporting implementation. 

Together, these events have reached more than 200 influential leaders and decision-makers, , including parliamentarians, service leaders and practitioners, helping, helping to build awareness and momentum across health, housing and social care. 

You can catch up with the recording of our HAPPI Hour webinar with Housing LIN on their website.  

Building Health into Homes is helping to create conversations between sectors that don’t always work closely together, despite having a shared ambition to improve people's health and wellbeing.  

Housing challenges often sit behind issues such as falls, delayed hospital discharge, reduced independence and poorer health outcomes. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration across systems. 

Interest continues to grow. Four further events are already planned, including a webinar with Closomat on 18 August, and a showcase session at the end of the OT Show on 25 November. 

Raising awareness of occupational therapy 

Alongside this, awareness of the contribution occupational therapists make to prevention and population health has grown. 

Since launch, Building Health into Homes has secured coverage in 10 national, regional and trade publications. A BBC television interview is also being planned. 

This media interest is helping us reach audiences beyond the profession and share a simple but important message – homes are a health issue. When homes are inaccessible, unsuitable or in poor condition, people's health and wellbeing can be affected. Occupational therapists have unique expertise in understanding the relationship between people, their occupations and the environments in which they live. 

Growing interest from RCOT members 

We're also seeing increased engagement from members with an interest in housing and the built environment. 

Membership of RCOT's Inclusive Built Environments network has increased by 9% since the project launched. Across RCOT's 13 practice networks, this is the largest increase in membership during the same period. 

This growth suggests that more occupational therapists are recognising the important role housing plays in supporting people's health, wellbeing and participation, and are seeking opportunities to learn from and connect with others working in this area. 

New opportunities to work together 

Another encouraging outcome has been the number of organisations interested in working with us. 

Five organisations have approached RCOT to explore collaboration opportunities that could support dissemination and implementation of the resources. These include a leading equipment provider, three professional or membership bodies and a local authority. 

This interest demonstrates that the project's messages resonate beyond occupational therapy and that there is appetite across sectors to strengthen the links between housing, health and social care. 

Looking ahead 

The early response to Building Health into Homes shows that there is growing recognition of the role housing plays in people's health and wellbeing. 

Downloads, event attendance, media coverage, network growth and new partnership opportunities all point to the same conclusion: people are ready to have this conversation. 

We're excited to build on this momentum over the coming months, continuing to support occupational therapists and partner organisations to make housing a routine part of prevention, early intervention and integrated care.