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Comparative Study
. 2013 Feb;103(2):316-21.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300867. Epub 2012 Dec 13.

A pilot study of the impact of housing first-supported housing for intensive users of medical hospitalization and sobering services

Debra Srebnik  1 , Tara Connor, Laurie Sylla
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A pilot study of the impact of housing first-supported housing for intensive users of medical hospitalization and sobering services

Debra Srebnik et al. Am J Public Health. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined changes in service use in a Housing First (HF) pilot program for adults who were homeless with medical illnesses and high prior acute-care use relative to a similar comparison group.

Methods: We used a 1-year pre-post comparison group design. The 29 participants and 31 comparison group members were adults who were homeless with inpatient claims of at least $10 000 or at least 60 sobering "sleep off" center contacts in the prior year.

Results: Participants showed a significantly greater reduction in emergency department and sobering center use relative to the comparison group. At a trend level, participants had greater reductions in hospital admissions and jail bookings. Reductions in estimated costs for participants and comparison group members were $62 504 and $25 925 per person per year-a difference of $36 579, far outweighing program costs of $18 600 per person per year.

Conclusions: HF participants showed striking reductions in acute-care use relative to the comparison group, demonstrating that HF can be a successful model for people with complex medical conditions and high prior acute-care use. Despite notable methodological limitations, these findings could be used to inform a larger multisite study that would establish greater generalizability.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Total emergency department (ED) contacts for Begin at Home (BAH) participants (June 2006–November 2008) and the comparison group (January–July 2008); Seattle, WA.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Total sobering center contacts for Begin at Home (BAH) participants (June 2006–November 2008) and the comparison group (January–July 2008); Seattle, WA.
FIGURE 3—
FIGURE 3—
Total inpatient admissions for Begin at Home (BAH) participants (June 2006–November 2008) and the comparison group (January–July 2008); Seattle, WA.
FIGURE 4—
FIGURE 4—
Total jail bookings for Begin at Home (BAH) participants (June 2006–November 2008) and the comparison group (January–July 2008); Seattle, WA.
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