Characteristics of health care interventions in affordable senior housing: A scoping review.

Only 7 of 28 studies used a randomized and controlled design, and 15 had non-randomized, non-controlled designs. Many samples were small; in 13 studies, 81 or fewer housing residents participated. Setting and sample characteristics were not reported in all studies, and race or ethnicity data were missing in more than a third of studies. The prevention studies had no randomized and controlled designs. The review did not formally evaluate risk of bias. The authors could not know whether studies with negative findings were unpublished, so reporting bias may affect the results. The review excluded studies outside the US and studies in mixed affordable housing sites. All 28 interventions added clinical staff that required external funding, which may limit how long programs could be sustained.

Do not read these findings as proof that any single intervention, or any single profession, improves health in affordable senior housing. The studies were heterogeneous, often small, frequently non-randomized, and delivered by teams, so the review cannot tell which component mattered or whether bias explains the results.