Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades

Katie Page; Lutfun Hossain; Dan Liu; Yo Han Kim; Kerryn Wilmot; Patricia Kenny; Margaret Campbell; Toby Cumming; Scott Kelly; Thomas Longden; Kees van Gool; Rosalie Viney; Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP) Team

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082340

Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades

Katie Page, Lutfun Hossain, Dan Liu, Yo Han Kim, Kerryn Wilmot, Patricia Kenny, Margaret Campbell, Toby Cumming, Scott Kelly, Thomas Longden, Kees van Gool, Rosalie Viney, Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP) Team

Western Sydney University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The Victorian Healthy Homes Program investigated the impact of thermal home upgrades on energy and health outcomes in vulnerable, older individuals over winter in Victoria, Australia.

DESIGN: A staggered parallel-group randomised control trial design of 984 (764 per protocol (PP)) vulnerable households and 1313 (1015 PP) individuals. The intervention group received their upgrade prior to their winter of recruitment, and the control group received their upgrade after the winter of their recruitment.

SETTING: Western Melbourne (metropolitan) and the Goulburn Valley (regional) in Victoria, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS: 1000 households were recruited: 800 from western Melbourne (metropolitan) and 200 from the Goulburn Valley (regional).

INTERVENTION: A thermal comfort and home energy efficiency upgrade of up to $AUD3500 per household.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in indoor temperature over winter and the secondary outcomes were changes in quality of life, healthcare use and costs, self-reported health measures, energy use and costs and humidity.

RESULTS: A relatively low-cost and simple home upgrade (average cost $A2809) resulted in reduced gas consumption (-25.5 MJ/day) and increased indoor winter temperatures (average daily increase of 0.33°C), and a reduction of exposure to cold conditions (<18°C) by an average of 0.71 hours (43 min) per day. The intervention group experienced improved mental health as measured by the short-form 36 mental component summary and social care related quality of life measured by the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, less breathlessness and lower overall healthcare costs (an average of $A887 per person) over the winter period.

CONCLUSIONS: The home upgrades significantly increased average winter indoor temperature, improved mental health and social care-related quality of life and made householders more comfortable while yielding reductions in overall healthcare use and costs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618000160235.

Original language	English
Article number	e082340
Number of pages	11
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	15
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082340
Publication status	Published - 26 Feb 2025

Keywords

Health Services
Health Services for the Aged
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
PUBLIC HEALTH
Quality of Life
Randomised Controlled Trial

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082340Licence: CC BY-NC

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Page, K., Hossain, L., Liu, D., Kim, Y. H., Wilmot, K., Kenny, P., Campbell, M., Cumming, T., Kelly, S., Longden, T., van Gool, K., Viney, R., & Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP) Team (2025). Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades. BMJ Open, 15(2), Article e082340. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082340

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title = "Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades",

abstract = "OBJECTIVES: The Victorian Healthy Homes Program investigated the impact of thermal home upgrades on energy and health outcomes in vulnerable, older individuals over winter in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: A staggered parallel-group randomised control trial design of 984 (764 per protocol (PP)) vulnerable households and 1313 (1015 PP) individuals. The intervention group received their upgrade prior to their winter of recruitment, and the control group received their upgrade after the winter of their recruitment. SETTING: Western Melbourne (metropolitan) and the Goulburn Valley (regional) in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 1000 households were recruited: 800 from western Melbourne (metropolitan) and 200 from the Goulburn Valley (regional). INTERVENTION: A thermal comfort and home energy efficiency upgrade of up to $AUD3500 per household. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in indoor temperature over winter and the secondary outcomes were changes in quality of life, healthcare use and costs, self-reported health measures, energy use and costs and humidity. RESULTS: A relatively low-cost and simple home upgrade (average cost $A2809) resulted in reduced gas consumption (-25.5 MJ/day) and increased indoor winter temperatures (average daily increase of 0.33°C), and a reduction of exposure to cold conditions (<18°C) by an average of 0.71 hours (43 min) per day. The intervention group experienced improved mental health as measured by the short-form 36 mental component summary and social care related quality of life measured by the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, less breathlessness and lower overall healthcare costs (an average of $A887 per person) over the winter period. CONCLUSIONS: The home upgrades significantly increased average winter indoor temperature, improved mental health and social care-related quality of life and made householders more comfortable while yielding reductions in overall healthcare use and costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618000160235.",

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author = "Katie Page and Lutfun Hossain and Dan Liu and Kim, {Yo Han} and Kerryn Wilmot and Patricia Kenny and Margaret Campbell and Toby Cumming and Scott Kelly and Thomas Longden and {van Gool}, Kees and Rosalie Viney and {Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP) Team}",

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T1 - Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program

T2 - a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades

AU - Page, Katie

AU - Hossain, Lutfun

AU - Liu, Dan

AU - Kim, Yo Han

AU - Wilmot, Kerryn

AU - Kenny, Patricia

AU - Campbell, Margaret

AU - Cumming, Toby

AU - Kelly, Scott

AU - Longden, Thomas

AU - van Gool, Kees

AU - Viney, Rosalie

AU - Victorian Healthy Homes Program (VHHP) Team,

PY - 2025/2/26

Y1 - 2025/2/26

N2 - OBJECTIVES: The Victorian Healthy Homes Program investigated the impact of thermal home upgrades on energy and health outcomes in vulnerable, older individuals over winter in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: A staggered parallel-group randomised control trial design of 984 (764 per protocol (PP)) vulnerable households and 1313 (1015 PP) individuals. The intervention group received their upgrade prior to their winter of recruitment, and the control group received their upgrade after the winter of their recruitment. SETTING: Western Melbourne (metropolitan) and the Goulburn Valley (regional) in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 1000 households were recruited: 800 from western Melbourne (metropolitan) and 200 from the Goulburn Valley (regional). INTERVENTION: A thermal comfort and home energy efficiency upgrade of up to $AUD3500 per household. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in indoor temperature over winter and the secondary outcomes were changes in quality of life, healthcare use and costs, self-reported health measures, energy use and costs and humidity. RESULTS: A relatively low-cost and simple home upgrade (average cost $A2809) resulted in reduced gas consumption (-25.5 MJ/day) and increased indoor winter temperatures (average daily increase of 0.33°C), and a reduction of exposure to cold conditions (<18°C) by an average of 0.71 hours (43 min) per day. The intervention group experienced improved mental health as measured by the short-form 36 mental component summary and social care related quality of life measured by the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, less breathlessness and lower overall healthcare costs (an average of $A887 per person) over the winter period. CONCLUSIONS: The home upgrades significantly increased average winter indoor temperature, improved mental health and social care-related quality of life and made householders more comfortable while yielding reductions in overall healthcare use and costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618000160235.

AB - OBJECTIVES: The Victorian Healthy Homes Program investigated the impact of thermal home upgrades on energy and health outcomes in vulnerable, older individuals over winter in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: A staggered parallel-group randomised control trial design of 984 (764 per protocol (PP)) vulnerable households and 1313 (1015 PP) individuals. The intervention group received their upgrade prior to their winter of recruitment, and the control group received their upgrade after the winter of their recruitment. SETTING: Western Melbourne (metropolitan) and the Goulburn Valley (regional) in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 1000 households were recruited: 800 from western Melbourne (metropolitan) and 200 from the Goulburn Valley (regional). INTERVENTION: A thermal comfort and home energy efficiency upgrade of up to $AUD3500 per household. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in indoor temperature over winter and the secondary outcomes were changes in quality of life, healthcare use and costs, self-reported health measures, energy use and costs and humidity. RESULTS: A relatively low-cost and simple home upgrade (average cost $A2809) resulted in reduced gas consumption (-25.5 MJ/day) and increased indoor winter temperatures (average daily increase of 0.33°C), and a reduction of exposure to cold conditions (<18°C) by an average of 0.71 hours (43 min) per day. The intervention group experienced improved mental health as measured by the short-form 36 mental component summary and social care related quality of life measured by the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, less breathlessness and lower overall healthcare costs (an average of $A887 per person) over the winter period. CONCLUSIONS: The home upgrades significantly increased average winter indoor temperature, improved mental health and social care-related quality of life and made householders more comfortable while yielding reductions in overall healthcare use and costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618000160235.

KW - Health Services

KW - Health Services for the Aged

KW - Patient Reported Outcome Measures

KW - PUBLIC HEALTH

KW - Quality of Life

KW - Randomised Controlled Trial

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JF - BMJ Open

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ER -

Outcomes from the Victorian Healthy Homes Program: a randomised control trial of home energy upgrades

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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