Physical and mental health across residential status of homeless individuals in San Juan, Puerto Rico S/A

Background: Homeless populations have disclosed in many studies their particular needs of health care services, histories of hospitalization, chronic health conditions and mental illnesses. This study assessed health-related quality of life across residential status of homeless individuals attending community-based organizations (CBOs) in San Juan, Puerto Rico (PR). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of 100 individuals aged 21-82 years enrolled in two CBOs that offer services to homeless in San Juan, PR. Face-to-face interviews collected information on socio-demographics, substance use, and access to medical care. The Short Form-36 (SF-36) version 1.0 Health Survey was administered to assess health status providing eight subscales, a Physical Component Summary (PCS) and a Mental Component Summary (MCS). ANOVA was employed to compare SF-36 norm-based mean scores across residential status categories. Post hoc differences were assessed by the Scheffe's F test. Results: Residential status was distributed as follows: 56.0% on-the-street homeless, 9.0% transitionally-housed and 35.0% housed. Mean PCS and MCS scores were 49.6±11.8 and 42.2±14.4, respectively. Transitionally-housed individuals had a significantly lower mean score in the mental health subscale compared to housed individuals (34.0±20.9 vs. 51.1±11.0, p<0.05). Bodily pain and role emotional subscales' means scores were marginally (p=0.07 and p=0.06, respectively) lower compared to on-the-street and housed individuals. Compared to housed individuals, transitionally-housed subjects had a significantly lower mean MCS score (47.3±10.8 and 32.6±16.6, respectively, p<0.05). Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for more aggressive prevention and treatment programs targeting transitionally-housed adults in San Juan, PR.