High users of the health care system use a disproportionate amount of health services yet have poorer health outcomes. This study aimed to examine natural trends in emergency department visits among high users of health and social services and assess whether the trends differed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this retrospective cohort study, researchers found that there was a decrease in emergency department visits. Further research is needed to elucidate COVID-19 pandemic specific factors associated with a decrease in emergency department visits.

A new study from UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative and the San Francisco Department of Public Health describes how San Francisco rapidly scaled a hotel-based isolation and quarantine (I/Q) system of care for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers found the program safely delivered integrated medical and behavioral health support to more than 1000 individuals outside the hospital setting, while helping to preserve hospital capacity.

This study from UCSF BHHI researchers examined deaths among people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. They found 82% of 331 deaths were associated with drug overdose, not COVID-19 infection. Traumatic injury, including homicide and suicide, was the second most common cause of death. This research highlights a need for strategies that address both homelessness and drug use, including housing, evidence-based treatment of opioid addiction, and overdose prevention programs.