TY - JOUR
AU - M. Arbour
AU - P. Fico
AU - S. Atwood
AU - N. Yu
AU - L. Hur
AU - M. Srinivasan
AU - R. Gitomer
A1 - 
AB - Screening for housing instability has increased as health systems move toward value-based care, but evidence on how health care-based housing interventions affect patient outcomes comes mostly from interventions that address homelessness. In this mixed-methods evaluation of a primary care-based housing program in Boston, Massachusetts, for 1,139 patients with housing-related needs that extend beyond homelessness, we found associations between program participation and health care use. Patients enrolled in the program between October 2018 and March 2021 had 2.5 fewer primary care visits and 3.6 fewer outpatient visits per year compared with those who were not enrolled, including fewer social work, behavioral health, psychiatry, and urgent care visits. Patients in the program who obtained new housing reported mental and physical health benefits, and some expressed having stronger connections to their health care providers. Many patients attributed improvements in mental health to compassionate support provided by the program's housing advocates. Health care-based housing interventions should address the needs of patients facing imminent housing crises. Such interventions hold promise for redressing health inequities and restoring dignity to the connections between historically marginalized patient populations and health care institutions.
AD - MaryCatherine Arbour (marbour@bwh.harvard.edu), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.; Placidina Fico, Brigham and Women's Hospital.; Sidney Atwood, Brigham and Women's Hospital.; Na Yu, Brigham and Women's Hospital.; Lynn Hur, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.; Maahika Srinivasan, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.; Richard Gitomer, Brigham and Women's Hospital.
AN - 38315923
BT - Health Aff (Millwood)
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 2
DA - Feb
DO - 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01046
DP - NLM
IS - 2
JF - Health Aff (Millwood)
LA - eng
N2 - Screening for housing instability has increased as health systems move toward value-based care, but evidence on how health care-based housing interventions affect patient outcomes comes mostly from interventions that address homelessness. In this mixed-methods evaluation of a primary care-based housing program in Boston, Massachusetts, for 1,139 patients with housing-related needs that extend beyond homelessness, we found associations between program participation and health care use. Patients enrolled in the program between October 2018 and March 2021 had 2.5 fewer primary care visits and 3.6 fewer outpatient visits per year compared with those who were not enrolled, including fewer social work, behavioral health, psychiatry, and urgent care visits. Patients in the program who obtained new housing reported mental and physical health benefits, and some expressed having stronger connections to their health care providers. Many patients attributed improvements in mental health to compassionate support provided by the program's housing advocates. Health care-based housing interventions should address the needs of patients facing imminent housing crises. Such interventions hold promise for redressing health inequities and restoring dignity to the connections between historically marginalized patient populations and health care institutions.
PY - 2024
SN - 0278-2715
SP - 200
EP - 208+
ST - Primary Care-Based Housing Program Reduced Outpatient Visits; Patients Reported Mental And Physical Health Benefits
T1 - Primary Care-Based Housing Program Reduced Outpatient Visits; Patients Reported Mental And Physical Health Benefits
T2 - Health Aff (Millwood)
TI - Primary Care-Based Housing Program Reduced Outpatient Visits; Patients Reported Mental And Physical Health Benefits
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01046
VL - 43
VO - 0278-2715
Y1 - 2024
ER -