Factors Associated with Poor Mental Health Status Among Homeless Women With and Without Dependent Children

Chambers, Catharine; Chiu, Shirley; Scott, Allison N.; Tolomiczenko, George; Redelmeier, Donald A.; Levinson, Wendy; Hwang, Stephen W.

doi:10.1007/s10597-013-9605-7

Cited by 61 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…31 Together with previous work, these findings suggest that homeless families are a distinct population who are overall healthier and may have less need for health services, perhaps reflecting a lower burden of physical and psychiatric illness. 32 Alternatively, homeless families may have been recruited into our study during a period when they were experiencing temporary or episodic homelessness and may not have been exposed to the same degree of physical, mental/emotional and social stressors as their single adult counterparts experiencing chronic homelessness. 9,33 However, the inverse association between family status and hospitalization remained significant even after adjusting for predisposing, enabling and need factors, suggesting the presence of other, possibly unmeasured, factors that may confound this relationship.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Medical or Surgical and Psychiatric Hospitalizations Among a Population-Based Cohort of Homeless Adults

et al. 2013

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Objectives-To identify factors associated with inpatient hospitalizations among a populationbased cohort of homeless adults in Toronto, Canada. Human Participant ProtectionThis study was approved by the Research Ethics Board at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada. All participants provided written informed consent. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm J Public Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 December 01. NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptMethods-Participants were linked to administrative databases to capture hospital admissions during the study period (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009). Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of medical/surgical and psychiatric hospitalizations.Results-Among 1,165 homeless adults, 20% had a medical/surgical hospitalization and 12% had a psychiatric hospitalization during the study period. These individuals contributed a total of 921 hospitalizations, of which 548 were medical/surgical and 373 were psychiatric. Independent predictors of medical/surgical hospitalization included birth in Canada, having a primary care provider, higher perceived external health locus of control, and lower health status. Independent predictors of psychiatric hospitalization included being a current smoker, having a recent mental health problem, and having a lower perceived internal health locus of control. Being accompanied by a partner or dependent children was protective for hospitalization.Conclusions-Health care need was a strong predictor of medical/surgical and psychiatric hospitalizations. Some hospitalizations among homeless adults are potentially avoidable, while others represent an unavoidable use of health services. KeywordsHospitalization; Homeless persons; Health care utilization Homeless adults are frequent users of inpatient hospital services. In a nationally representative sample of homeless persons in the United States, almost one in four respondents reported being hospitalized in the past year, a rate four times higher than U.S. norms. 1 The frequent use of inpatient hospital services partially reflects the high prevalence of acute and chronic disease, injuries and assaults, and substance use and mental illness among this population. [1][2][3] However, the high rates of hospitalization have also been attributed to a lack of access to primary and preventative care, particularly in the United States where 50% of homeless people have no health insurance. 1,[4][5][6][7] In a nationally representative sample of persons who used homeless services in the United States, Kushel et al. show that lack of health insurance and African American race/ethnicity, as compared to non-Latino white race/ethnicity, were the only factors significantly associated with a lower odds of self-reported hospitalization 1 In a subsequent study, Kushel et al. show that being uninsured significantly decreased the likelihood of self-reporting a non-maternal hospitalization in the past year, while food instability and housing instabilit...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Medical or Surgical and Psychiatric Hospitalizations Among a Population-Based Cohort of Homeless Adults

et al. 2013

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“…Substance abuse is not uncommon with studies indicating that 28% to 50% of homeless mothers report using illicit drugs within one year of the assessment (e.g., Hanrahan et al, 2005; Weinreb et al, 2006). Chambers et al (2014) found that homeless women with dependent children were more likely to have physical and mental health problem, as well as alcohol or drug use problems, compared to homeless women without dependent children. More frequent drug and alcohol use has been shown to predict higher rates of future intimate partner violence (El-Bassel et al, 2005).…”

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confidence: 93%

Housing and Support Services with Homeless Mothers: Benefits to the Mother and Her Children

Guo

Slesnick

Feng

2015

Community Ment Health J

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This study reports the mental health outcomes of a small randomized clinical trial (n = 60) that compared housing and supportive services (Ecologically-Based Treatment, EBT) to community based housing and support services (treatment as usual, TAU). Mothers receiving EBT, but not those receiving TAU, reported reductions in their children's behavioral health problems. Reductions in mothers' mental health problems and intimate partner violence were observed in both TAU and EBT. The current findings provide evidence supporting the efficacy of independent housing and integrated support services. Given that EBT showed similar, and in some cases superior findings to TAU, EBT may be an effective alternative for communities that do not have shelters available for those families experiencing homelessness.

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“…Briefly, mothers were on average 27.86 years old at the time of interview (range 17-41) with eight of the 14 mothers being younger (under 25), five of the mothers being 21 or younger and one being a teenager. Mothers were on average 21.29 years old when they gave birth to their first child (range [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], with 50% of mothers reporting their first pregnancy during their teenage years. The majority experienced homelessness prior to falling pregnant (64%) and, importantly, over half had experienced at least seven different episodes of homelessness since giving birth to their first child (57%).…”

Section: Participants and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homelessness Pathways for Australian Single Mothers and Their Children: An Exploratory Study

2018

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There is increasing concern about family homelessness. Homeless mothers and their children are one of society's most disadvantaged and at-risk populations. However, very little Australian research exploring mothers' views on their homelessness experiences exists. Using semi-structured interviews with 14 mothers and four agency staff, this study explored homeless Australian mothers' pathways into and out of homelessness, their specific needs and the services and supports that were (or would have been) most helpful. In this sample of single mothers and their children, early experiences of homelessness and domestic violence contributed most commonly to homelessness episodes. Almost immediate engagement with welfare agencies seemed to be protective against re-experiencing homelessness, however Australian restrictions on length of program involvement and limited housing options for mothers exiting homelessness programs, may place such mothers and their children at high risk of re-entering homelessness. Younger mothers had greater needs and benefited most from personalised one-on-one support that addressed key parenting and life skills. The implications of these findings are considered in relation to service delivery to this vulnerable group and avenues for future research are noted.

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Factors Associated with Poor Mental Health Status Among Homeless Women With and Without Dependent Children

Cited by 61 publications

References 36 publications

Predictors of Medical or Surgical and Psychiatric Hospitalizations Among a Population-Based Cohort of Homeless Adults

Predictors of Medical or Surgical and Psychiatric Hospitalizations Among a Population-Based Cohort of Homeless Adults

Housing and Support Services with Homeless Mothers: Benefits to the Mother and Her Children

Homelessness Pathways for Australian Single Mothers and Their Children: An Exploratory Study

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