Community responses to a novel house design: A qualitative study of "Star Homes" in Mtwara, southeastern Tanzania

Abstract

Introduction: To evaluate the impact of a novel design "Star Home" on the incidence of malaria, respiratory tract infections and diarrheal diseases among children, randomly selected households in Mtwara, Tanzania were offered a free, new Star Home. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative research that accompanied the Star Homes study, this article describes the experiences of residents and the wider community of living with these buildings.

Methods: A total of four rounds of face-to-face interviews were undertaken with residents of Star Homes (n = 37), control (wattle/daub) homes (n = 21), neighboring households n = 6), community members (n = 17) and community leaders (n = 6). The use of Star Homes was also observed over these four time periods between 2021 and 2023. Interviews were conducted in Swahili, transcribed, and translated into English for thematic analysis.

Results: Star Homes residents appreciated several aspects of the Star Homes, including overall comfort, access to water and electricity, and clean toilets. There were concerns about some design elements, such as poorly closing doors, stoves perceived as inefficient, and the façade, which was susceptible to rainwater ingress. The houses were not always used as intended by their developers, for example, residents were sleeping downstairs instead of upstairs because of cold floors or difficulties using the stairs. Star Homes residents described how the structures triggered praise but also envy from other community members.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for close attention to the use of novel design houses and careful sensitization around the potential benefits of dwellings to ensure that the intended health impacts of interventions are achieved.

Fig 1. A Star Home residents.

Fig 2. Essential components of a Star Home.

Fig 3. A Star home resident showed his stove and a shield (marked by a red ring) on the shade net.

The issue of water ingress on the ground floor was also raised by residents. This was despite occasional holes in the shade nets being fixed by the Star Homes team. Sometimes, the stove fire was extinguished by the rainwater coming into the kitchen.