Housing as an intervention on hospital use: access among chronically homeless persons with disabilities.
A study examining demographics and hospital utilization for chronically homeless persons with disabilities was conducted at pre-housing enrollment and at 6 months post-housing. Of the 20 participants, 70% (n = 14) were Black American and 30% (n = 6) were White; 100% (n = 20) were non-Hispanic; 90% (n = 18) were men; 40% (n = 8) were veterans; Median years since last permanent housing and total homelessness were 7 and 10.5 respectively. The following increases were observed: employment (0 to 1); income (20%, n = 4 to 35%, n = 7); primary care (25%, n = 5 to 95%, n = 19); and mental health service use (25%, n = 5 to 60%, n = 12). Known disabilities included HIV (15%, n = 3); hepatitis C (45%, n = 9); mental illness (60%, n = 12) and substance abuse (80%, n = 16) with 45% (n = 9) dually diagnosed. Over the course of the study, Emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalization use decreased. While these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.14 and p = 0.31, respectively), they translate to an estimated $250,208 savings.
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. david.parker@uscmed.sc.edu
David
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Parker
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013022:South Carolina; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States