An investigation of the relationship between health, home and law in the context of poor and precarious housing, and complex and advanced illness

About the project

This interdisciplinary project will investigate relationships between health, law and home in the context of poor and precarious housing; and complex/advanced illness. It aims to make recommendations to improve housing conditions and the effectiveness of housing regulation. The project will appeal to those interested in social justice and user experience.

Poor, inadequate, and precarious housing is an important driver of health inequity. Exposure to poor housing conditions including damp, cold, mould and noise, is strongly associated with poor physical and mental health, reduced feelings of control over one’s life, and increased use of health services.

Poor housing conditions are extensively regulated but inadequately enforced. The private rental sector has the highest rates of poor housing, and precarity is rapidly increasing: evictions have risen rapidly, and renters report they couldn’t afford the costs of moving if evicted. Marginal populations are spending longer periods in poor and insecure housing, with adverse consequences for their health and healthcare access, particularly where there is complex illness.

Coroners’ reports and statutory enforcement decisions are underutilised resources in understanding the relationship between precarious housing and premature death. They also have underexploited potential to provide explore the complexity and contingency of the relationship between health outcomes and home.

This project is timely as the endemic relationship between poor and precarious housing, and health has become urgent due to the cost-of-living and fuel crisis. The approach is user-focused and values-based, emphasising the perspective of people with complex/advanced disease.

Lived and/or professional experience of poor housing conditions will be as significant a factor in recruitment as academic attainment; there is scope to develop the project to reflect the interests and community links of the candidate, focusing on a variety of legal and health research methods such as coroner report reviews, visual ethnography or secondary analysis of datasets.

Dr Katherine Hunt PhD MSc PGCert BN RN FHEA

• Measurement of quality and experiences of palliative and end of life care.
• Identifying and exploring sources of inequality and inequity in access to quality end of life care
• End of life care for people with intellectual disability and anticipating end of life

Professor Helen Carr

• Housing
• Social inequality
• Property

Entry requirements

You must have the following (or their international equivalents ):

You must also give a satisfactory interview.

• 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject or health professional qualification
• master's degree at merit level in a relevant subject

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you'll need an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) minimum level of 7.0 overall with 6.5 in all components. Your awarded certificate needs to be dated within the last 2 years.

Visit our English language proficiency pages to find out about other qualifications we accept.

If you need further English language tuition before starting your degree, you can apply for one of our pre-sessional English language courses .

Fees and funding

This project is funded by the the Economic and Social Research Council through the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership .

Your tuition fees will be paid and you'll receive a stipend (living allowance) of £17,668 tax-free per year for up to 3.5 years.

You can also claim funding for training and fieldwork.

How to apply

• Apply to the University of Southampton
• Apply to the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership for funding

Apply to the University to do the research

Apply now

You need to:

If you have any questions about the degree application, email the graduate school .

• choose programme type (Research), 2023/24, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences
• choose PhD in Health Sciences (Full time)
• add name of the supervisor (Dr Katherine Hunt) in section 2

Apply for funding to do the research

Then you need to apply to the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

You don't need to wait for a decision from the University before making your SCDTP application.

Visit the SCDTP website to apply for funding .

If you have any questions about the funding application, email the SCDTP .

Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences

If you have a general question, email our doctoral college (fels-gradschool@soton.ac.uk)

Project leader

For an initial conversation, email Dr Katherine Hunt (K.J.Hunt@soton.ac.uk)

Research areas