Health & Healthcare: All Related Resources

People living with HIV experiencing homelessness are more likely to have higher viral loads. The POP-UP model at the Ward 86 HIV clinic in San Francisco was designed to address barriers to care engagement. Researchers found an improvement in the 12-month HIV viral suppression from 0% to 44%. However, many patients were not virally suppressed. Researchers suggest that POP-UP clinics are promising to improve care engagement and HIV viral suppression among people experiencing homelessness.

People with multiple, complex health and housing needs frequently receive fragmented care because the providing systems operate independently. The California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative worked with partners in San Francisco’s public health and criminal legal systems to link together ten years of data from the physical health, behavioral health, housing, and criminal legal sectors.

Hospital emergency departments (ED) are on the frontlines of serving people experiencing homelessness, and this report investigated what ED data can reveal about homelessness in California. Hospitals operated by counties and the University of California reported higher shares of ED visits by people experiencing homelessness. Linking discharge data with homeless services programs can offer insights into how people engage with programs and help provide better resources to evaluate the programs and investments aimed at improving the lives of Californians experiencing homelessness.

Patients who experience homelessness face a high burden on chronic disease, including colorectal cancer. There are many barriers in access to colonoscopy procedures. Researchers provide policy solutions to reduce health care disparity.