Warmer, drier homes kept 2,800 kids out of hospital in New Zealand

Researchers at the University of Otago followed more than 17,000 children, ages 2 to 18, whose families received insulation, heating, ventilation and basic repairs through the Healthy Homes Initiative. Over five years, the children in improved homes were about 30 percent less likely to be hospitalised — 2,800 fewer admissions, mostly for asthma and other respiratory illness. Māori and Pacific children, the most affected by poor housing, stood to gain the most.