Toward a Screening Tool for Housing Accessibility Problems

Abstract

To present a reduced version of the Housing Enabler, useful as a screening tool in practice contexts and in research, this study identifies the core items of the environmental component of the instrument, that is, the items most important in terms of the instrument's overall validity to measure accessibility problems. Utilizing cross-national data and interdisciplinary knowledge through an iterative process, a set of core items was identified. The environmental component of the reduced version comprises 61 items, compared to 188 in the original instrument. The rank correlation between the accessibility scores generated by the original and reduced versions was r ≥ .97 ( p < .001). Based on comprehensive empirical research in three countries, the reduced version of the Housing Enabler is a time-efficient and valid screening instrument. It is a powerful tool for research and interventions focusing on housing accessibility problem identification.