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This paper is an extended review and expert commentary on a recently published study by the Centre for Housing Policy (CHP) which discusses the complexities of research in “housing related support” in the UK context, and proposes further work. This review aims to explore the strengths and limitations of the study; and the potential wider relevance outside the UK research context.

The review methodology is traditionally that of expert opinion. The reviewer draws upon previous evaluation studies of mental health and housing, commissioned by the UK Dept of Health, the (Dept of) Communities and Local Government, the National Institute for Mental Health in England, and the Care Services Improvement Partnership, including additional material on the Mental Health Minimum Dataset.

The CHP report reviewed raises important questions over the complexities of evidencing innovative services. Despite some omissions, it should be helpful to health local commissioners in assessing the value of services; and the further research the report proposes is to be welcomed. The report also provides a useful introduction to “housing related support” for an international research audience, less familiar with the UK social policy and funding context.

The review introduces and recommends the CHP study – which is itself a valuable contribution to future research on housing‐related support – to a wider audience. The review also includes additional material never before published on the potential research value in the context of the Mental Health Minimum Dataset.

This article reports on research into the introduction of electronic service delivery (ESD) by social landlords, social services and charities conducted during 2000‐2001 which collected data on the progress that had been made in developing ESD. It included interviews with service users, including older people, people with a mental health problem and vulnerable young people. Potential benefits are balanced by the concerns of service users that they would be obliged to make use of ESD, which would risk the further marginalisation of some people who are often socially, politically and economically excluded.

Youth homelessness has been recognised as a significant social problem since the late 1980s, and local authority homelessness strategies now include preventative services as a key area of development. However, youth homelessness prevention services are a relatively recent innovation in the UK, and there is only a small literature on their effectiveness. Safe Moves, developed by the Foyer Federation and Connexions during 2002‐2004, represents the first national youth prevention model and offers young people support with life skills, peer mentoring and family mediation. An independent evaluation by the Centre for Housing Policy, University of York concluded that Safe Moves was preventing homelessness for some young people, although the challenges of establishing projects in a predominantly crisis‐orientated culture were significant.

Anti‐social behaviour remains high on local and national policy agendas, and is a major area of concern for policy makers, local authorities, housing providers and communities. The Shelter Inclusion Project was set up in Rochdale in 2002 to develop an innovative model of floating support for households that are having difficulty complying with their tenancy agreements because of reported anti‐social behaviour, or who are homeless as a result. The three‐year pilot project (October 2002 to October 2005) is being evaluated by the Centre for Housing Policy, University of York. Interim findings (at September 2004) suggest that the project has made a positive impact on addressing anti‐social behaviour for its service users; most people are still in their same tenancy and anti‐social behaviour actions have ceased for those leaving the service.

The last edition of the Journal carried an introduction to retirement communities. Hartrigg Oaks is a non‐profit‐making community, developed without government subsidy, developed by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, and has become well‐known among those interested in different housing and social care for older people. Modelled on American continuing care retirement communities (CCRC), this retirement village has recently been the subject of a three‐year evaluation (Croucher et al, 2003). This article gives information about Hartrigg Oaks, and some of the findings of the evaluation.

The major aim of this study is to find out whether people articulate their information needs and provide information to others differently in online sites of various types, more specifically, blogs and internet discussion forums.

The study is based on the analysis of ten blogs and 40 threads of Suomi24, a Finnish internet discussion forum. The blogs and discussion threads focus on the same topic, that is, coping with depression. For the study, 1,044 blog postings, 1,727 bloggers' and blog readers' comments and 1,236 messages written by the discussion forum participants were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

The bloggers, blog readers and discussion group participants mainly articulated needs related to getting an opinion or evaluation of an issue, while needs for factual information and procedural information about possible ways of action were presented less frequently. Information provision drew strongly on the use of personal knowledge. There were no remarkable differences between the types of online sites with regard to the articulation of information needs and using sources for providing information to others.

The findings are based on the analysis of a limited number of Finnish blogs and discussion threads in the field of coping with depression. Thus, the findings cannot be generalized to all online forums of these kinds.

Blogs and internet discussion forums provide useful sites to pose questions for online contributors and to get opinions as well as factual information about the ways to cope with depression.

The study is unique in that it compares information needs and information provision in online sites of various types.