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Health Status and Health Care Experiences among Homeless Patients in Federally Supported Health Centers: Findings from the 2009 Patient Survey
Author(s) -
LebrunHarris Lydie A.,
Baggett Travis P.,
Jenkins Darlene M.,
Sripipatana Alek,
Sharma Ravi,
Hayashi A. Seiji,
Daly Charles A.,
NgoMetzger Quyen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
health services research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1475-6773
pISSN - 0017-9124
DOI - 10.1111/1475-6773.12009
Subject(s) - medicine , health care , mental health , odds , family medicine , odds ratio , gerontology , public health , cross sectional study , affect (linguistics) , health equity , behavioral risk factor surveillance system , environmental health , logistic regression , nursing , psychiatry , psychology , communication , pathology , economics , economic growth
Objective To examine health status and health care experiences of homeless patients in health centers and to compare them with their nonhomeless counterparts. Data Sources/Study Setting Nationally representative data from the 2009 H ealth C enter P atient S urvey. Study Design 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. Data Collection Computer‐assisted personal interviews were conducted with health center patients. Principal Findings 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.