The number of studies and publications do not always correspond (e.g., a publication may include several studies or one study may be explained in several publications).
Effectiveness Review
Fenelon A, Mayne P, Simon A, et al. Housing assistance programs and adult health in the United States. AJPH 2017;107(4):571-8.
Garg A, Burrell L, Tripodis Y, Goodman E, Brooks-Gunn J, Duggan AK. Maternal mental health during children's first year of life: association with receipt of Section 8 rental assistance. Housing Policy Debate 2013;23(2):281-97.
Lee WS, Beecroft E, Shroder M. The impacts of welfare reform on recipients of housing assistance. Housing Policy Debate 2005;16(3-4):433-68.
Leech TG. Subsidized housing, public housing, and adolescent violence and substance use. Youth & Society 2012;44(2):217-35.
Lens M, Ellen I, O’Regan K. Do vouchers help low-income households live in safer neighborhoods? Evidence on the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research 2011;13(3):135-59.
Mills G, Gubits D, Orr L, et al. Effects of housing vouchers on welfare families. Cambridge, MA: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research.;2006. URL: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/commdevl/hsgvouchers.html. Access date: June 3, 2020
Sanbonmatsu L, Ludwig J, Katz L, et al. Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program: final impacts evaluation. Cambridge, MA: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Office of Policy Development and Research;2011. URL: https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/MTOFHD_fullreport_v2.pdf. Access date: June 3, 2020
Supporting Studies
Boudreaux M, Fenelon A, Slopen N, Newman SJ. Association of childhood asthma with federal rental assistance. JAMA Pediatrics 2020;174(6):592-8.
Chetty R, Hendren N, Katz LF. The effects of exposure to better neighborhoods on children: new evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment. J Am Econ Rev 2016;106(4):855-902.
Clark W. Reexamining the Moving to Opportunity study and its contribution to changing the distribution of poverty and ethnic concentration. Demography 2008;45(3):515-35.
Gennetian L, Sciandra M, Sanbonmatsu L, et al. The long-term effects of Moving to Opportunity on youth outcomes. Cityscape 2012;14(2):137-68.
Jacob B, Kapustin M, Ludwig J. The impact of housing assistance on child outcomes: evidence from a randomized housing lottery. Quarterly J Econ 2015;130(1):465-506.
Kessler RC, Duncan GJ, Gennetian LA, et al. Associations of housing mobility interventions for children in high-poverty neighborhoods with subsequent mental disorders during adolescence. JAMA 2014;311(9):937-47.
Leventhal T, Brooks-Gunn J. Moving to Opportunity: an experimental study of neighborhood effects on mental health. AJPH 2003;93(93):1576-82.
Leventhal T, Dupéré V. Moving to Opportunity: does long-term exposure to "low-poverty" neighborhoods make a difference for adolescents? Social Science & Medicine 2011;73:737-43.
Ludwig J, Sanbonmatsu L, Gennetian L, et al. Neighborhoods, obesity, and diabetes: a randomized social experiment. NEJM 2011;365(16):1509-19.
Nguyen Q, Rehkopf D, Schmidt N, Osypuk T. Heterogeneous effects of housing vouchers on the mental health of US adolescents. AJPH 2016;106:755-62.
Nguyen Q, Schmidt NM, Glymour M, Rehkopf DH, Osypuk TL. Were the mental health benefits of a housing mobility intervention larger for adolescents in higher socioeconomic status families? Health & Place 2013;23:79-88.
Orr L, Feins J, Jacob R, et al. Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program: interim impacts evaluation. Cambridge, MA: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research;2003. URL: https://www.huduser.gov/Publications/pdf/MTOFullReport.pdf. Access date: June 3, 2020
Osypuk TL, Joshi S, Schmidt NM, Glymour MM, Nelson TF. Effects of a federal housing voucher experiment on adolescent binge drinking: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Addiction 2019a;114:48-58.
Osypuk TL, Schmidt NM, Kehm RD, Tchetgen Tchetgen EJ, Glymour MM. The price of admission: does moving to a low-poverty neighborhood increase discriminatory experiences and influence mental health? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2019b;54:181-90.
Osypuk TL, Tchetgen EJT, Acevedo-Garcia D, et al. Differential mental health effects of neighborhood relocation among youth in vulnerable families: results from a randomized trial. J Arch of General Psychiatry 2012;69(12):1284-94.
Pollack CE, Blackford AL, Du S, Deluca S, Thornton RLJ, Herring B. Association of receipt of a housing voucher with subsequent hospital utilization and spending. JAMA 2019;322(21):2115-24.
Sciandra M, Sanbonmatsu L, Duncan GJ, et al. Long-term effects of the Moving to Opportunity residential mobility experiment on crime and delinquency. Journal of Experimental Criminology 2013;9(4):451-89.
Simon AE, Fenelon A, Helms V, Lloyd PC, Rossen LM. HUD housing assistance associated with lower uninsurance rates and unmet medical need. Health Affairs 2017;36(6):1016-23.
Wood M, Turnham J, Mills G. Housing affordability and family well-being: results from the housing voucher evaluation. Housing Policy Debate 2008;19(2):367-412.
Effectiveness Review
CDC Librarians searched databases shown in the table through July 2019. Publications were included in the body of evidence if they evaluated tenant-based housing voucher programs in the United States, were published in English from 1999 to July 2019, compared outcomes among groups of people or households who received an intervention with outcomes among groups who did not, and reported outcomes of interest. These included access to determinants of health such as quality housing, safety, employment, income, education, food, social services, recreation, transportation, housing stability, physical health, mental health, healthcare use, or risky behavior (e.g. substance use, committing a crime).
| Database |
Dates Searched |
Results |
Unique Results |
| Medline (OVID) |
07/25/19 |
57 |
57 |
| PsycINFO (OVID) |
07/25/19 |
69 |
51 |
| Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection (ProQuest) |
07/25/19 |
521 |
472 |
| Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) |
07/25/19 |
181 |
84 |
| Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) |
07/25/19 |
424 |
325 |
| NTIS (EBSCO) 1999-2014 (no language limit) |
07/25/19 |
71 |
70 |
| Scopus |
07/25/19 |
388 |
202 |
| Cochrane |
07/25/19 |
29 |
11 |
Mesh Terms: Housing, Public Housing
Search Terms: Housing assistance OR housing certificate OR housing voucher OR housing subsidy OR public housing OR income based housing OR rental assistance
AND
"Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program"
The following limits were applied English language and dates 1999-2019
For studies in the United States it is best to select during the elimination process.
Search References
Article from 2003 study completed by Community Guide.
Websites to search
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) 
HUD Bibliographic Database
| Database |
Strategy |
Run Date |
Records |
Medline
(Ovid) |
1 Housing/
2 Public Housing/
3 ((housing adj3 (assistance or certificate* or voucher* or subsid* or assistance or public or insecurity or affordable or (income adj3 based))) or ((rental or rent) adj3 (assistance or voucher* or subsid*))).ti,ab.
4 ("Section 8" or "section 202" or "section 811" or "voucher program" or "direct cash" or "moving to opportunity" or "MTO study" or "housing allowance" or "gautreaux study" or "gautreaux program").mp.
5 1 or 2 or 3
6 4 and 5
7 limit 6 to (english language and yr="1999 - 2019") |
7/25/19 |
57 |
PsycINFO
(OVID) |
1 Housing/
2 ((housing adj3 (assistance or certificate* or voucher* or subsid* or assistance or public or insecurity or affordable or (income adj3 based))) or ((rental or rent) adj3 (assistance or voucher* or subsid*))).ti,ab.
3 ("Section 8" or "section 202" or "section 811" or "voucher program" or "direct cash" or "moving to opportunity" or "MTO study" or "housing allowance" or "gautreaux study" or "gautreaux program").mp.
4 1 or 2
5 3 and 4
6 limit 6 to (english language and yr="1999 - 2019") |
7/25/19 |
69
-18 duplicates
= 51 unique items |
Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection
(Pro-Quest) |
MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Public housing") OR MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Housing") OR ti(((housing NEAR/3 (assistance or certificate* or voucher* or subsid* or assistance or public or insecurity or affordable or (income NEAR/3 based))) or ((rental or rent) NEAR/3 (assistance or voucher* or subsid*)))) OR ab(((housing NEAR/3 (assistance or certificate* or voucher* or subsid* or assistance or public or insecurity or affordable or (income NEAR/3 based))) or ((rental or rent) NEAR/3 (assistance or voucher* or subsid*))))
AND
MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Vouchers") OR ti(("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program")) OR ab(("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program")) |
7/25/2019 |
521
-49 duplicates
= 472 unique items |
Sociological Abstracts
(Pro-Quest) |
MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Public housing") OR MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Housing") ) OR ti(((housing NEAR/3 (assistance or certificate* or voucher* or subsid* or assistance or public or insecurity or (income NEAR/3 based))) or ((rental or rent) NEAR/3 (assistance or voucher* or subsid*)))) OR ab(((housing NEAR/3 (assistance or certificate* or voucher* or subsid* or assistance or public or insecurity or (income NEAR/3 based))) or ((rental or rent) NEAR/3 (assistance or voucher* or subsid*))))
AND
MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Vouchers") OR ti(("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program")) OR ab(("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program")) |
7/25/2019 |
181
- 97 duplicates
= 84 unique items |
Academic Search Complete
EBSCO |
TI/AB (Housing N3 (assistance OR certificate* OR voucher* OR subsid* OR assistance OR public OR voucher OR insecurity OR assistance OR (income N3 based)) OR (rental N3 assistance)
AND
("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program"). |
7/25/19 |
424
- 99 duplicates
= 325 unique items |
NTIS
EBSCO |
S4 S1 AND S2 Limiters - Published Date: 19990101-20141231
S3 S1 AND S2 Search modes - Boolean/Phrase
S2 TI ( ("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program"). ) OR AB ( ("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program")
S1 (((TI housing OR AB housing N3 (TI assistance OR AB assistance OR TI certificate* OR AB certificate* OR TI voucher* OR AB voucher* OR TI subsid* OR AB subsid* OR TI assistance OR AB assistance OR TI public OR AB public OR TI insecurity OR AB insecurity OR TI affordable OR AB affordable OR (TI income OR AB income N3 TI based OR AB based))) OR ((TI rental OR AB rental OR TI rent OR AB rent) N3 (TI assistance OR AB assistance OR TI voucher* OR AB voucher* OR TI subsid* OR AB subsid*)))) |
7/25/19 |
71
- 1 duplicates
= 70 unique items |
| Scopus |
((((TITLE-ABS("housing") W/3 (TITLE-ABS("assistance") OR TITLE-ABS("certificate*") OR TITLE-ABS("voucher*") OR TITLE-ABS("subsid*") OR TITLE-ABS("assistance") OR TITLE-ABS("public") OR TITLE-ABS("insecurity") OR (TITLE-ABS("income") W/3 TITLE-ABS("based")))) OR ((TITLE-ABS("rental") OR TITLE-ABS("rent")) W/3 (TITLE-ABS("assistance") OR TITLE-ABS("voucher*") OR TITLE-ABS("subsid*")))))) AND (((TITLE-ABS-KEY("Section 8") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("section 202") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("section 811") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("voucher program") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("direct cash") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("moving to opportunity") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("MTO study") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("housing allowance") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("gautreaux study") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("gautreaux program")))) AND PUBYEAR > 1999 AND ( LIMIT-TO ( LANGUAGE,"English" ) ) |
7/25/19 |
388
- 186 duplicates
= 202 unique items |
| Cochrane |
MeSH descriptor: [Public Housing] this term only
OR
MeSH descriptor: [Housing for the Elderly] this term only
OR
MeSH descriptor: [Housing] this term only
OR
(((housing NEAR3 (assistance OR certificate* OR voucher* OR subsid* OR assistance OR public OR insecurity OR affordable OR (income NEAR3 based))) OR ((rental OR rent) NEAR3 (assistance OR voucher* OR subsid*))):ti,ab)
AND
(("Section 8" OR "section 202" OR "section 811" OR "voucher program" OR "direct cash" OR "moving to opportunity" OR "MTO study" OR "housing allowance" OR "gautreaux study" OR "gautreaux program"):ti,ab,kw) |
7/25/19 |
29
-18 Duplicates
= 11 unique items |
Notes: Duplicates were identified using the Endnote automated "find duplicates" function with preference set to match on title, author and year, and removed from your Endnote library. There will likely be additional duplicates found that Endnote was unable to detect.
Alley DE, Soldo BJ, Pagán JA, et al. Material resources and population health: disadvantages in health care, housing, and food among adults over 50 years of age. Am J Public Health 2009;99 (Suppl 3):S693-S701. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.161877.
Bergman P, Chetty R, DeLuca S, Hendren N, et al. Creating moves to opportunity: Experimental evidence on barriers to neighborhood choice. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020. Available from URL: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26164. Accessed July 16, 2020.
Chetty R. The effects of exposure to better neighborhoods on children: New evidence from the Moving to Opportunity experiment. American Economic Review 2016;106(4):855-902.
Cutts DB, Meyers AF, Black MM, Casey PF, et al. US housing insecurity and the health of very young children. American Journal of Public Health 2011;101(8):1508-14.
Dastrup S, Finkel M, Burnett K, de Sousa T. Small area fair market rent demonstration evaluation: Final report. US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 2018. Available from URL: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Small-Area-FMR-Evaluation-Final-Report.html. Accessed July 16, 2020.
Fullilove MT. Housing is health care. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2010;39(6): 607-8.
Healthy People 2030. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Available from URL: https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health. Accessed September 22, 2020.