title: Health status and health care experiences among homeless patients in federally supported health centers: findings from the 2009 patient survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine health status and health care experiences of homeless patients in health centers and to compare them with their nonhomeless counterparts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nationally representative data from the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses were limited to adults (n = 2,683). We compared sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, access to health care, and utilization of services among homeless and nonhomeless patients. We also examined the independent effect of homelessness on health care access and utilization, as well as factors that influenced homeless patients' health care experiences.
  
  
  METHODS
  Computer-assisted personal interviews were conducted with health center patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Homeless patients had worse health status-lifetime burden of chronic conditions, mental health problems, and substance use problems-compared with housed respondents. In adjusted analyses, homeless patients had twice the odds as housed patients of having unmet medical care needs in the past year (OR = 1.98, 95 percent CI: 1.24-3.16) and twice the odds of having an ED visit in the past year (OR = 2.00, 95 percent CI: 1.37-2.92).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an ongoing need to focus on the health issues that disproportionately affect homeless populations. Among health center patients, homelessness is an independent risk factor for unmet medical needs and ED use.
authors.affiliation: US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Rockville, MD 20857, USA. llebrun@hrsa.gov
authors.forename: Lydie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Lebrun-Harris
authors.forename: Travis P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Baggett
authors.forename: Darlene M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Alek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sripipatana
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: A Seiji
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: Quyen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ngo-Metzger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult