title: Measuring community integration using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and participatory mapping for people who were once homeless.
abstract: Measures of community integration rely on self-report assessments that often quantify physical or social participation, but fail to capture the individual׳s spatial presence in the community. The current study documents the activity space, or area of daily experiences, of 37 individuals who were once homeless through participatory mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Contrary to expectations, there was no significant relationship between activity space size and community integration measures, except a negative association with physical integration. Further analysis revealed, however, that continued use of homeless services, geographically spread throughout the city, was associated with larger activity space size, but may be counterproductive to social and psychological integration efforts. Analysis of the types of locations identified revealed high importance given to leisure locations and ongoing involvement with medical and mental health locations. Finally, community integration outcomes did not differ significantly by demographics or housing type, but rather degree of family involvement and feeling like home, factors that may have more potential for change.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Counseling and Psychology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4102 Bondurant Hall, Campus Box 7205, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7205, USA. Electronic address: dara_chan@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Dara V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Occupational Therapy, Boston University, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Helfrich
authors.affiliation: Occupational Therapy, Boston University, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Norman C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Hursh
authors.affiliation: Occupational Therapy, Boston University, Boston, USA; Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sally Rogers
authors.affiliation: Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Sucharita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gopal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D062309:Community Integration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Activity space; Community integration; Disability; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Homelessness