The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55058

Tara L. McLaughlin, PhD, MPE¹, Irene Glasser, PhD¹, Rosemarie D. Maljanian, RN, MBA¹, and Katherine McCormack, RN, MPH². (1) Institute for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Hartford Hospital, 80 Seymour St., PO Box 5037, Hartford, CT 06102-5037, 860-545-5065, tmclaug@harthosp.org, (2) Hartford Health Department, 131 Coventry St., Hartford, CT 06112

In order to facilitate improvements to health and social services for the homeless in Hartford CT, an in-depth health survey was conducted with a randomly chosen sample of 201 homeless individuals. Analyses focussed on health care access, rates of chronic disease and unmet service needs within this sample. The rate at which homeless individuals reported having one regular place for health care and the rate at which they reported their access to health care as either “good”, “very good” or “excellent” was comparable to that of the general population of Hartford (70% vs. 86% and 75% vs. 83%, respectively) as was the percentage of the homeless reporting that they have some kind of health insurance (82% vs. 86%, respectively). However, rates of mental health and substance abuse problems, HIV/AIDS and chronic bronchitis/emphysema were two to twelve times higher in the homeless sample than in the general population of Hartford. Rates of current smoking among the homeless (67%) were twice that of the general population of Hartford and 55-78% of those with histories of heart disease, asthma and bronchitis were current smokers at the time of the interview. At least 50% of the current smokers in the homeless sample had contemplated quitting smoking at some time. The mean number of unmet service needs differed significantly across domicile (p< .001) and was lowest for clients in supportive housing. These data underscore the importance of supportive housing programs and have important implications for future public health initiatives tailored to Hartford’s homeless population.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to describe at least three areas of health disparity between the homeless population of Hartford and the general population of Hartford

Keywords: Homelessness, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.