Empirical relationship between housing insecurity and mental health outcomes among residents of informal settlements in Zambia: The case of Misisi compound

With decent housing being a human right, insecurities centered around housing may lead to mental ill-health (Talmatzky, Nohr, knaevelsrud, & Niemeyer, 2023). This study aimed at establishing the relationship between housing insecurity and mental health among residents of unplanned settlements in Zambia the case of Misis compound. A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study with a convenient sample of 126 (N=126). Three measuring instruments were used; a housing insecurity scale with 5 dimensions on a five-point Likert scale anchored by 1(strongly disagree and 5 (strongly agree). Depression was measured using the 9-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1(Not at all) to 4(Nearly every day). The scale has acceptable reliability coefficients of 0.75. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7) with a Cronbach alpha of 0.78.  The seven items are anchored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1(Not at all) to 4 (Nearly every day). Correlational analysis results have shown a significant but negative relationship between housing insecurity and mental health outcomes. Independent t-test and Anova results have shown that there are significant differences in the means attributed to respondents’ demographics. Lastly regression analysis results indicate that housing insecurity is a predictor of negative health outcomes.