A pilot study at Whangarei Hospital has found that Maori living in crowded conditions in state houses suffer worse health issues than those in crowded private housing.
Penny Hollings of the Manaia Primary Health Organisation (PHO) delivered the findings of the study, Housing and the Health of Tamariki in Te Tai Tokerau, at the Population Health Congress in Auckland.
Forty whanau were interviewed for the study, which aimed to get up-to-date information about the housing conditions for tamariki admitted to Whangarei Hospital.
It found participants living in Housing New Zealand homes were consistently colder throughout winter, and 60 percent of Maori children were living in overcrowded conditions.
Ms Hollings says the study reaffirms the link between health and housing and more discussion is needed between the two sectors.
She said the hospital nurses were keen for crowding to be addressed as a root cause of respiratory illness.
