A preliminary study of the health of a populaltion staying in apartments of varying sizes in Singapore.

Abstract

A study was made of the health of 438 households living in high-rise flats in three public housing estates in Singapore. These households were selected by serial sampling from a total sample of 594 households; 156 (26%) were non-respondents. The study used personal interviews to collect data. Respondents questioned directly indicated a low but positive effect of high-rise living conditions on their physical health. The perceived health status of most of these flat dwellers remained unchanged after moving into their present accomodation. The major findings with regard to mental health were: (a) worry and anxiety were associated with the socio-economic status of the respondents; (b) the recreational activities of the respondents were related to their socio-economic status, although the majority spent most of their spare time at home; (c) living conditions in flats tended to affect the patterns of social contacts of the residents with their extended families and primary groups. Three factors (income, education and ethnic group) affected the social behaviour of the respondents with regard to health: (a) the preference for, and selection of, the first source of medical treatment varied for the different soci-economic and ethnic groups; (b) self-medication was associated with ethnic group; (c) the level of education affected the decision on when to receive antenatal care.