American journal of public health
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We studied housing retention and its predictors in the single-site Housing First model. ⋯ We found that single-site Housing First programming fills a gap in housing options for chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems.
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We examined the proportion of homeless veterans among users of Veterans Affairs (VA) emergency departments (EDs) and compared sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of homeless and nonhomeless VA emergency department users nationally. ⋯ In a national integrated health care system with no specific requirements for health insurance, the major differences found between homeless and nonhomeless ED users were high rates of psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses. EDs may be an important location for specialized homeless outreach (or "in" reach) services to address mental health and addictive disorders.
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In this population-based cohort study, we assessed baseline risk factors for homelessness, including the role of service in the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts, among a large cohort of recent veterans. ⋯ Although service in Iraq and Afghanistan was significant, socioeconomic and behavioral health indicators show more promise in efforts to use administrative data to inform prevention efforts by identifying veterans who are at elevated risk for becoming homeless upon their return to civilian life.
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We compared the characteristics of chronically homeless and acutely homeless elderly veterans to better understand precipitants of homelessness. ⋯ Assessment of a range of factors is needed to address risk factors and events leading to homelessness. Further research with larger samples is needed to confirm the characteristics and needs of the elderly homeless veteran population.
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We examined whether neighborhood social characteristics (income distribution and family fragmentation) and physical characteristics (clean sidewalks and dilapidated housing) were associated with the risk of fatalities caused by analgesic overdose. ⋯ Analgesic overdose fatalities exhibit spatial patterns that are distinct from those of heroin and nonoverdose unintentional fatalities. Whereas analgesic fatalities typically occur in lower-income, more fragmented neighborhoods than nonoverdose fatalities, they tend to occur in higher-income, less unequal, and less fragmented neighborhoods than heroin fatalities.