Improving the Collaboration between Energy Providers and Psychosocial Researchers in Order to Better Understand and Reduce Fuel Poverty

This paper will present the results of a clinical study that aims to analyze the effects of fuel poverty on mental health. Our work was carried out on ten subjects by using four instruments: an anamnestic questionnaire, The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the Goldberg and Hillier General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a non-directive interview. Our results highlight that, despite the public and private strategies and solidarities put in place, energy poverty has negative consequences on life quality. Physical health is affected as much as mental balance. The people we met suffer from depressive disorders, sleep disorders and anxiety. Although hidden by social desirability, they also present self-esteem problems. It is, therefore, crucial bringing them into a process of personal empowerment that would allow them to take back an active part in a non-assumed situation.