Rental Housing Type and Self-Reported General Health and Mental Health Status: Evidence from the Canadian Housing Survey 2018-2019.

Using the Canadian Housing Survey, 2018-2019, we examined self-reported general and mental health among tenants residing in various housing types, including cooperative, non-profit, government, and private housing. Adjusting for confounders, we discovered that tenants in not-for-profit housing reported the highest odds, over four and half times (odds ratio 4.63), of poor general health compared to tenants in privately owned housing in Canada. On the other hand, the odds were reversed for tenants in cooperative housing and government housing, with 24% and 33% lower odds of poor general health, respectively, compared to tenants in privately owned housing. Moreover, we found that tenants in not-for-profit (1.26) and government housing (1.43) reported higher odds of poor mental health. On the other hand, tenants in cooperative housing reported 42% lower odds of poor mental health than tenants in privately owned housing. Furthermore, we observed variations in the odds of poor general and poor mental health among tenants from different equity-seeking groups across different housing types. These findings highlight the importance of considering housing type and equity factors in understanding health outcomes among tenants.

Community-based home support agencies: comparing the quality of care of cooperative and non-profit organizations.

In the province of Québec, services focusing on the instrumental activities of daily living are delivered to seniors by a combination of non-profit organizations and cooperatives. But do these organizations perform differently? This study asks whether home support cooperatives deliver higher-quality care than non-profit home support agencies. The specific effects of consumer and worker participation on the board of directors are also tested. Data were collected in 2006 and 2007 from 831 individuals receiving home support services from nine cooperatives and nine non-profits. Two consumer-centered measures of quality were used: a summated, 39-point satisfaction score and a 4-point overall quality score. Data were analyzed using ordered logistic regression. Results show that although organizational type was not a predictor of the two quality outcomes, worker involvement in governance was positively associated with the satisfaction score, while consumer involvement was positively associated with the overall quality score.