Barriers and Supports to Substance Abuse Service Use Among Homeless Adults

Abstract

Although there is a great need for substance abuse services among the homeless, many homeless individuals do not use those services. This study examined barriers and supports related to service use. Participants recognized a need for treatment and significant barriers to accessing care.

Income generation and attitudes towards addiction treatment among people who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting

“…Consistent with prior research that has identified residential instability as a barrier to accessing addiction treatment (Brubaker et al 2012), the present study identified an independent and positive relationship between homelessness and self-reported need for addiction treatment. Socioeconomically vulnerable PWUD often struggle to maintain social integration (De Vet et al 2013) and, as such, may not be effectively supported to seek treatment without the aid of targeted interventions.…”

African American Female Offender’s Use of Alternative and Traditional Health Services After Re-Entry: Examining the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations

“…20,22,30 Limited research has examined how the number of self-reported barriers affect vulnerable populations. However, a study by Brubaker and colleagues 6 revealed a paradoxical finding that fewer individual barriers were associated with decreased odds of accessing substance abuse services. Considering the underutilization of this measure in extant research, and its prior application to only substance abuse service among homeless adults, it remains underdeveloped as an Enabling traditional variable.…”

“…The Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations has frequently been applied to examine health service utilization among homeless persons 4,6–10 and although there is a high concordance between incarceration status and homelessness, this study seeks to offer insight on the most vulnerable timeframe when persons are transitioning back into the community. Previous literature has suggested that the model may be applicable to persons under criminal justice supervision given similar issues of vulnerability that limit access to care.…”

“…4 Previous research has indicated that Need variables are associated with increased use of health service utilization. 4,6,9,12,20 Specifically, a history of mental health problems, 9,10,12,21,22 substance use problems, 12,21 and HIV status 22 have been found to contribute to the likelihood of seeing a doctor among vulnerable populations. Sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) may predict health care utilization similar to HIV status.…”

“…6,9,12,21 The current research seeks to expand upon previous literature by specifically examining three distinct types of health service utilization: alternative health services, overnight hospitalizations, and number of ambulatory office visits. While the distinction between overnight hospital visits and outpatient care is a substantial contribution to extant research, the addition of alternative health services is particularly relevant to the included population.…”