Shelter to Survival: Unpacking the Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity Across the Life Course

TL;DR

This paper explores how housing insecurity affects health at different life stages, showing it leads to long-term health problems and inequalities.

Contribution

The study introduces a life-course framework to explain how housing insecurity accumulates health disparities over time.

Findings

Housing insecurity is linked to adverse health outcomes across all life stages.

Developmental and mental health impacts worsen over time due to housing instability.

Early-life housing insecurity leads to lasting health consequences that could be prevented.

Abstract

Housing insecurity is a growing public health concern linked to adverse health outcomes and lifelong vulnerability. Although housing is a well-established social determinant of health, this review employs a life-course framework to explain how housing insecurity contributes to the accumulation of health inequities and chronic disparities across the different stages of human development. A rapid review was conducted across PubMed, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, focusing on peer-reviewed studies published between 1991 and 2025. Studies were screened using predefined eligibility criteria, and the selection process was documented through a PRISMA flow diagram. Fifty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Housing insecurity was consistently associated with adverse health outcomes across pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older age. Each life stage presents distinct vulnerabilities shaped by environmental and social conditions, which are manifested through physiological and psychosocial pathways. While physical health effects were most frequently reported, developmental and mental health impacts accumulated over time, amplifying overall burden. The findings demonstrate a clear life-course pathway linking housing insecurity to immediate and long-term health risks. Early-life disadvantages create lasting, preventable consequences, underscoring the urgent need for policies that embed housing stability within broader public health planning.

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