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Energy use in the home and consequences on healthcare practices – a review

Author
Natalie Bamford, Sonja Oliveira
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2025.2526877
Published
Jul 15, 2025

Social determinants of health (SDoH), such as the way people use energy in their homes, are influential on patient health. The impacts of SDoH are often utilised to shape both health policy and practices; the impact of energy use in the home should be no exception.

The current landscape of how energy use in the home and its connection to health is understood by healthcare professionals, is not well known and needs to be reviewed. This paper aims to understand the current body of literature that engages with healthcare professionals’ perceptions of patient energy use and health, as well as how the role of the patient home in healthcare practices is understood.

This review demonstrates this area is underresearched, but where studied, challenges faced by healthcare professionals to consider SDoH in their practices are raised. While it is shown that healthcare professionals understand the home to be influential to patient health, literature discussing healthcare practices conceptualises the home as a location only. This is an understanding that has the potential to shape how policy and practice is influenced between energy use, home, and health.

Design HOPES is a collaborative design-led research initiative, comprising five Scottish Universities (University of Strathclyde, University of Dundee, Heriot Watt University, Abertay University, and the University of Edinburgh), NHS Scotland, the third sector, and design organisations.

This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the Future Observatory GTE Hub Programme at the Design Museum [grant number AH/Y00373X/1].

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