{"id":1113,"date":"2022-08-10T21:19:24","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T01:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/health-leaders\/?page_id=1113"},"modified":"2022-08-10T21:19:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T01:19:24","slug":"homelessness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/health-leaders\/homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Homelessness and Health
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Section Leader(s): Dr. Christopher Steele, MD MPH MS and Emma Kryzanski<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Introduction:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the HEARTH act, a person is considered homeless if they are with primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements, exiting an institution where they resided for 90 days or less or resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution, or individuals or families who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence within 14 days.<\/span>1<\/span><\/sup> In short, homelessness is the situation of an individual or family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means, and ability of acquiring it.<\/span>2<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

Homelessness, regardless of its form, can harm an individual\u2019s health with higher risk for chronic illness, morbidity, and mortality.<\/span>1<\/span><\/sup> With an estimated 2.5-3 million people in the United States experiencing homelessness in a year<\/span>1<\/span>, all medical providers should be able to identify a patient\u2019s homelessness and understand the ability they have as a provider to help a patient achieve housing stability and greater health.<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of this module is to introduce homelessness, its diversity as an experience, and how it can impact a patient physically, mentally, and socially. The module aims to provide the knowledge and experience needed for a medical provider to help a patient address their housing instability as well as the health problems it may cause.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Learning Objectives<\/b><\/p>\n

By the end of this module, learners will be able to do the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Define homelessness, and differentiate between various types of homelessness.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Describe epidemiology and risk factors associated with homelessness.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Discuss the impact that homelessness can have on someone\u2019s health.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Describe a provider\u2019s role in assessing patients for homelessness and methods to screen.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Discuss the Housing First approach to homelessness and its associated health impacts for patients.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Identify resources with which you can connect patients in order to address homelessness and apply them in a clinical scenario.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Discuss how the impacts of homelessness can be considered in a patient\u2019s medical care.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Content Materials<\/b><\/p>\n

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    1. E. Kryzanski <\/span>Homelessness and Health<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    2. E. Kryzanski <\/span>Caring for a Homeless Patient<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Andermann A, Bloch G, Goel R, Brcic V, Salvalaggio G, Twan S, Kendall CE, Ponka D, Pottie K. Caring for patients with lived experience of homelessness. Can Fam Physician. 2020 Aug;66(8):563-570. PMID: 32817028; PMCID: PMC7430777.<\/span>https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1L5Gpf_a9UAPGn-XuCFxWAvz9l2gfv57y\/view?usp=sharing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Nilsson SF, Nordentoft M, Hjorth\u00f8j C. Individual-Level Predictors for Becoming Homeless and Exiting Homelessness: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Urban Health. 2019;96(5):741-750. doi:10.1007\/s11524-019-00377 <\/span>https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1agbAZLjNVUNDGNALJIaz0EIckLC38ekz\/view?usp=sharing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Baxter AJ, Tweed EJ, Katikireddi SV, Thomson H. Effects of Housing First approaches on health and well-being of adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2019;73(5):379-387. doi:10.1136\/jech-2018-210981<\/span>
      \n      https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1wR9qttc4p9en9d2dv_EVvkVk7Np0858D\/view?usp=sharing<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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      Tools for Assessing and Addressing a Patient\u2019s Homelessness<\/b><\/p>\n

      Assessing a Patient\u2019s Housing Stability<\/p>\n