Little is known how older adults with a current or recent experience of homelessness navigated the switch to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers examined the perceptions and use of telehealth, sampling from a larger longitudinal study on homeless-experienced adults in Oakland, CA. They found that the participants experienced challenges accessing the necessary technologies for telehealth.

Cancer is the leading cause of mortality for people experiencing homelessness (PEH). However, not much is known about cancer-related surgical outcomes among PEH. This retrospective cohort study aimed to characterize access to care among PEH, evaluate postoperative outcomes, and assess costs associated with surgery for malignancy among PEH. Researchers found that PEH were less likely to undergo surgery for malignancy at cancer centers than hose who are housed. People experiencing homelessness also had a higher risk of requiring unplanned surgery.

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.

Research from BHHI in collaboration with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and UC Berkeley School of Public Health showed how shelter-in-place emergency housing during the C...

Older homeless-experienced adults have low rates of advance care planning (ACP) engagement. In this cross-sectional qualitative study, researchers examined potential barriers and solutions to ACP engagement. Researchers found that participants believed that ACP is important, but acknowledge the multiple barriers to engagement. Potential solutions include capitalizing on opportunities outside health care setting and focusing on the period after housing and tailoring content.

This study from BHHI researchers describes five distinct subgroups of the highest users of the health care system in San Francisco with differential comorbidities, health care needs, and social determinants of health, spanning from patients with medical comorbidities solely using medical services to patients grappling with housing insecurity, incarceration, substance use disorder, and mental health comorbidities. Frequent users of the health care system are not a homogenous population as previously thought. This study sheds new light on how to help the most vulnerable patients and inform clinicians and care coordination teams on making sure patients get the care they need the most. 

The median age of single homeless adults is over 50. Individuals who are homeless visit emergency departments (EDs) at higher rates than the general population. Researchers described the use of and factors associated with ED use in a sample of homeless adults 50 and older. They found that a sample of adults aged 50 and older who were experiencing homelessness at study entry had higher rates of ED use in the prior 6 months than the general US age-matched population. Within the sample, ED use rates varied based on individuals’ residential histories, suggesting that individuals’ ED use is related to exposure to homelessness.

In a cohort of over 100,000 patients who received care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system, those experiencing homelessness were more likely to be diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer compared with those who had housing. The patients who experienced homelessness also had longer hospital stays for all the cancer types studied. However, the findings differed across healthcare settings. In a commentary accompanying the study, Maria C. Raven, MD, MPH, associate Professor and Chief of Emergency Medicine at UCSF, said "Reducing healthcare disparities for people experiencing homelessness is essential, and the [VA] can serve as an example of what it takes to do so."

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.

 Traumatic injury is a major cause of morbidity for people experiencing homelessness (PEH), however, injury patterns and subsequent hospitalization among PEH have not been studied on a national scale. In this national retrospective observational cohort study, researchers evaluated whether differences in mechanisms of injury exist between PEH and housed trauma patients in North America and whether the lack of housing is associated with increased adjusted odds of hospital admission. Researchers found that injured PEH had a significantly adjusted greater odds of hospital admissions.

This UCSF study examined deaths among people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco from 2016 to 2018. Although heart disease and cancer are the first and second causes of death for California’s general population, the leading causes of homeless deaths were acute intoxication (unintended overdose) and trauma (including homicide and suicide rates over triple that of the US general population). The authors advocate that these differences in cause-specific mortality should inform death prevention efforts within the homeless population differently than the general population.

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.

The proportion of single homeless adults over the age of 50 is increasing. In this longitudinal cohort study, researchers examined the prevalence of and risk of falling in a cohort of older homeless adults. Researchers interviewed participants every 6 months for 3 years. They found a high prevalence of falls. Participants reported a prevalence of falls higher than older adults with a mean age of 78 in the general population. Researchers recommended identifying people at high risk of falls reducing unsheltered 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.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health implemented the Coordinated Care Management System (CCMS) in 2007. The CCMS is used to develop High Users of Multiple Systems (HUMS) tp identify individuals with the highest use of emergency medical services. Researchers described the HUMS scoring system and the characteristics and service use of the highest scoring 100 individuals. Researchers found that nearly all of the individuals had a history of homelessness in SF, and over half were unsheltered at their last point of contact.

The number of individuals incarcerated in the United States has increased since the 1970s. Frequent emergency department (ED) use and incarceration can both be driven by underlying structural factors and social needs. Researchers conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis to assess whether an increased frequency of ED use was associated with incarceration. They found that ED use is independently associated with incarceration.

California’s homeless population has increased in recent years, and so has public investment in addressing homelessness, making understanding the size and needs of the state’s homeless population more important than ever. Discharge data from emergency departments (EDs) can help. PPIC researcher Shannon McConville and UCSF professor Hemal Kanzaria, MD outlined key findings from a new report and discussed the implications for policymakers.