Envisioning housing equity: A framework to promote housing security among hospitalized children

Considerable evidence indicates that housing is a key driver of health, and the adverse impact of inadequate housing on child health and developmental outcomes is well established. Housing warrants additional attention given its complexity, role in the development of health disparities, and association with hospitalizations as described below. We highlight housing as an important domain to further examine as the field of social care integration gains momentum in the inpatient setting and as hospitals navigate how to develop, implement, and evaluate their strategies. In the current landscape, individual hospitals that are screening for social needs are assessing variable social domains, and studies to date have been limited to examining feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness.

In turn, we propose a framework for supporting housing security among hospitalized children, and one that extends beyond the steps of screening and referring.