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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Tatjana Meschede, PhD, Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, (617) 287-5539, tatjana.meschede@umb.edu and Jessie M. Gaeta, MD, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Boston University Medical Center, 729 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02118.

The goal of this presentation is to describe preliminary health outcomes of 25 chronically homeless persons who were housed in a Housing First model in Quincy, Massachusetts. Upon entry into housing, the participants had been homeless for several years, living either in a shelter or on the streets, and suffered from complex medical problems. Housing First targets those most difficult to serve with a harm reduction approach. In this model housing occurs prior to addressing other service needs, and is linked to intensive case management services in the home. Acceptance of these services, however, is not a requirement for ongoing tenancy.

This presentation will track changes in health from two years prior to and up to one year after participation in the housing model. Quantitative data include medical, mental health, and substance abuse outcomes and service use. Qualitative information is collected through in-person interviews with all participants on quality of life and perception of health. Preliminary cost estimates of medical service usage prior to and after the housing intervention will also be presented. In addition, patient case reports will illustrate the potential impact of housing on chronic disease.

This study underscores the link between housing models that include intensive services and health outcomes for chronically homeless people. The focus on housing as a medical intervention can be used in support of a paradigm shift in statewide homeless policy from an emergency shelter-based approach to a housing-based approach.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Describe a Housing First model.
• 2. Articulate the impact of a Housing First model on health outcomes.
• 3. Recognize the public policy implications of evaluating housing models from a medical point of view.

Keywords: Homeless Health Care, Housing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation