• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • UMass Chan Student Research and Publications
    • T.H. Chan School of Medicine
    • Senior Scholars Program
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • UMass Chan Student Research and Publications
    • T.H. Chan School of Medicine
    • Senior Scholars Program
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of eScholarship@UMassChanCommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsUMass Chan AffiliationsTitlesDocument TypesKeywordsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsUMass Chan AffiliationsTitlesDocument TypesKeywords

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Help

    AboutSubmission GuidelinesData Deposit PolicySearchingAccessibilityTerms of UseWebsite Migration FAQ

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Health Care for the Homeless: An Aging Demographic 2006 to 2010

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    1-Aborn_Senior_Scholars_Abstra ...
    Size:
    159.6Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    2-Aborn_Senior_Scholars_Paper.pdf
    Size:
    491.2Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    3-Russo_Jennifer_final.pdf
    Size:
    399.9Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Russo_HCH_2006_to_2010_An_Agin ...
    Size:
    445.7Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Authors
    Russo, Jennifer Aborn
    Upshur, Carole C.
    Faculty Advisor
    Carole Upshur
    UMass Chan Affiliations
    Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
    Document Type
    Poster
    Publication Date
    2012-05-02
    Keywords
    homeless
    elderly
    female
    homelessness
    Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Program
    Homeless Persons
    Health Status
    Aging
    Aged
    Population Dynamics
    Community Health and Preventive Medicine
    Epidemiology
    Health Services Administration
    Women's Health
    Show allShow less
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Background: Homelessness in America is a growing problem. An estimated 1.59 million people spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program in 2010. Of this group, an estimated 2.8% were over the age of 62. The number of elderly homeless individuals is expected to increase by about 33% between 2010 and 2020 and more than double by 2050. Programs like the Health Care for the Homeless serve to both medically care for this growing population as well as collect data about their specific demographics and health care needs. Objectives: We studied demographic and health care needs unique to the rapidly growing elderly female population and reviewed current literature with the goal of identifying possible pathways to homelessness among this population as well as provider-based initiatives needed to better care for this homeless subset. Methods: Health Care for the Homeless data are collected in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the form of de-identified surveys completed by clinic personnel and submitted to the Uniform Data System (UDS), which compiles an aggregate report. The frequencies of key demographic variables and diagnostic and preventative health variables between 2006 and 2010 were analyzed using nonparametric Chi-square tests. Results: Between 2006 and 2010, the number of elderly female patients increased by almost a third. Chronic illness and gender-related cancer screens improved, but are well below national averages. Additionally, the housing and insurance statuses of the homeless population appear to be in flux. Fewer HCH patients are living in homeless shelters (-4.3%) and on the street (-0.7%) and more are reporting transitional housing (+1.6%) or doubling-up (+5.8%). Data further reveal fewer patients presenting without insurance (-5.3%) and more who have Medicaid (+3.7%), Medicare (+0.3%), other public insurance (+0.9%) and private insurance (+0.4%). There were no statistically significant changes between age, gender, housing, or insurance status groupings when comparing 2006 and 2010 aggregate data. Conclusion: The elderly homeless comprise a small, but growing subset of the national homeless population. This group is particularly susceptible to economic vulnerability and unmet health care needs. Elderly females are at an increased risk for common diseases and co-morbidities that affect individuals in their age group, including inability to perform activities of daily living, falls, impaired cognitive and executive function, frailty, and depression. Additionally, homelessness itself increases their risk of developing many acute illnesses and chronic conditions. This population is particularly susceptible to mental illness which may be further exacerbated by a lack of coping skills and resources to recover from their homeless situation.
    DOI
    10.13028/qgkk-ks71
    Permanent Link to this Item
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/49189
    Notes

    Medical student Jennifer Aborn Russo participated in this study as part of the Senior Scholars research program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

    This poster is accompanied by a detailed paper available under "Additional Files."

    Rights
    Copyright is held by the author(s), with all rights reserved.
    ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
    10.13028/qgkk-ks71
    Scopus Count
    Collections
    Senior Scholars Program

    entitlement

     

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Provision of contraceptive services to homeless women: results of a survey of health care for the homeless providers

      Saver, Barry G.; Weinreb, Linda F.; Gelberg, Lillian; Zerger, Suzanne (2012-03-29)
      Homeless women have both a higher rate of pregnancy and a higher proportion of unintended pregnancies than other American women. The authors sought to learn about contraception services offered by providers of health care to homeless women and barriers to provision of long-acting, reversible contraception in these settings. A survey of the 31 member organizations in the national Health Care for the Homeless Practice-Based Research Network was conducted, inquiring about services provided and barriers to service provision. Among the 20 responding organizations (65% response rate), 17 directly provided contraceptive services; two referred patients elsewhere, and one provided no contraceptive services. All 17 that provided such services provided condoms; 15 provided oral contraceptives; 14 provided injectable contraception; 6 provided intrauterine devices, and 2 provided contraceptive implants. Barriers to providing the last two methods included lack of provider training, lack of resources for placement, costs, and concerns about complications. The present survey results suggested very limited access for homeless women across the country to the two most effective means of long-acting, reversible contraception. Modest investments of resources could reduce a number of barriers to providing these services.
    • Thumbnail

      Infants Exposed To Homelessness: Health, Health Care Use, And Health Spending From Birth To Age Six

      Clark, Robin E.; Weinreb, Linda; Flahive, Julie M.; Seifert, Robert W. (2019-05-01)
      Homeless infants are known to have poor birth outcomes, but the longitudinal impact of homelessness on health, health care use, and health spending during the early years of life has received little attention. Linking Massachusetts emergency shelter enrollment records for the period 2008-15 with Medicaid claims, we compared 5,762 infants who experienced a homeless episode with a group of 5,553 infants matched on sex, race/ethnicity, location, and birth month. Infants born during a period of unstable housing resulting in homelessness had higher rates of low birthweight, respiratory problems, fever, and other common conditions; longer neonatal intensive care unit stays; more emergency department visits; and higher annual spending. Differences in most health conditions persisted for two to three years. Asthma diagnoses, emergency department visits, and spending were significantly higher through age six. While screening and access to health care can be improved for homeless infants, long-term solutions require a broader focus on housing and income.
    • Thumbnail

      Homelessness Contributes To Pregnancy Complications

      Clark, Robin E.; Weinreb, Linda; Flahive, Julie; Seifert, Robert W. (2019-01-01)
      Homelessness during pregnancy poses significant health risks for mothers and infants. As health care providers increase their emphasis on social determinants of health, it is important to understand how unstable housing contributes to complications during pregnancy. We linked data about emergency shelter enrollees with Massachusetts Medicaid claims for the period January 1, 2008-June 30, 2015 to compare health care use and pregnancy complications for 9,124 women who used emergency shelter with those for 8,757 similar women who did not. Rates of mental illness and substance use disorders were significantly higher among homeless women. Adjusted odds of having nine pregnancy complications were also significantly higher for homeless women and remained substantially unchanged after we adjusted for behavioral health disorders. Emergency shelter users also had fewer ambulatory care visits and more months without billable care and were more likely to visit an emergency department. Homelessness and behavioral health disorders appear to be independent factors contributing to pregnancy complications and should be addressed simultaneously.
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Lamar Soutter Library, UMass Chan Medical School | 55 Lake Avenue North | Worcester, MA 01655 USA
    Quick Guide | escholarship@umassmed.edu
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.