Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1998 Jun;13(6):389-97.
doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1998.00119.x.

Health characteristics and medical service use patterns of sheltered homeless and low-income housed mothers

L Weinreb  1 , R Goldberg, J Perloff
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Health characteristics and medical service use patterns of sheltered homeless and low-income housed mothers

L Weinreb et al. J Gen Intern Med. 1998 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the health characteristics and service utilization patterns of homeless women and low-income housed women who are heads of household.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Community of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Participants: A sample of 220 homeless mothers and 216 low-income housed mothers receiving welfare.

Measurements and main results: Outcome measures included health status, chronic conditions, adverse lifestyle practices, outpatient and emergency department use and hospitalization rates, and use of preventive screening measures. Both homeless mothers and housed mothers demonstrated low levels of physical and role functioning and high levels of bodily pain. Prevalence rates of asthma, anemia, and ulcer disease were high in both groups. More than half of both groups were current smokers. Compared with the housed mothers, homeless mothers reported more HIV risk behaviors. Although 90% of the homeless mothers had been screened for cervical cancer, almost one third had not been screened for tuberculosis. After controlling for potential confounding factors, the homeless mothers, compared with the housed mothers, had more frequent emergency department visits in the past year (adjusted mean, homeless vs housed, 1.41 vs .95, p = .10) and were significantly more likely to be hospitalized in the past year (adjusted odds ratio 2.22; 95% confidence interval 1.13, 4.38).

Conclusions: Both homeless mothers and low-income housed mothers had lower health status, more chronic health problems, and higher smoking rates than the general population. High rates of hospitalization, emergency department visits, and more risk behaviors among homeless mothers suggest that they are at even greater risk of adverse health outcomes. Efforts to address gaps in access to primary care and to integrate psychosocial supports with health care delivery may improve health outcomes for homeless mothers and reduce use of costly medical care services.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Link B, Susser E, Steve A, Phelan J, Moore R, Strenning E. Lifetime and five-year prevalence of homelessness in the United States. Am J Public Health. 1994;84:1907–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. US Conference of Mayors . A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities: 1995. Washington, DC: US Conference of Mayors; 1995.
    1. Wright J. Poor people, poor health: the health status of homeless. J Social Issues. 1990;46:49–64.
    1. Gelberg L, Linn L. Assessing the physical health of homeless adults. JAMA. 1989;262:1973–9. - PubMed
    1. Usherwood T, Jones N, the Hanover Project Team Self-perceived health status of hotel residents: use of the SF 36-D health survey questionnaire. J Public Health Med. 1993;15(4):311–4. - PubMed

Publication types