Housing satisfaction and migrant health in urban China: empirical evidence and implications for housing policy

Substandard housing is considered a public health issue worldwide. Migrants are more likely than other individuals to experience poor housing conditions in urban China, and these challenges in housing conditions have deep effects on migrant health. This study characterizes the relationship between housing satisfaction and migrant health in Hangzhou, China. In particular, 17 indicators for assessing housing satisfaction, which include the indoor environment (IE), outdoor environment (OE) and safety (SE), are integrated. In order to reveal the physical health and mental health status of migrants, a physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) were assessed by using a Twelve-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Multivariate linear regression was further employed to quantify the associations between housing satisfaction and migrant health. The results showed that high satisfaction with the indoor environment, outdoor environment and safety can improve the physical health of migrants. High housing satisfaction, in addition to satisfaction with the outdoor environment, has a significant relationship with the mental health of migrants. Income is associated with migrant health since it plays a key role in determining migrants’ socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and subjective aspirations. However, per capita living space does not have a significant association with migrant health because most of the migrants live in small living spaces in the study area. According to the findings, implications for housing policies that can better integrate housing conditions and health are proposed.