Implementation of Mobile Medical Units for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objectives: Mobile medical units (MMUs) provide health care services in the community to reach populations with geographic, financial, and other barriers to care. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (HPACT) program deployed MMUs to 25 sites in fiscal year 2024 to increase access for veterans experiencing homelessness. We examined early implementation of MMUs in HPACT sites by describing implementation and operational issues, services provided, and characteristics of veterans who used MMUs.

A Federal Demonstration Project of Money Management Services for Veterans at Risk of Homelessness.

With funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in 2023 more than $2.

Optimizing Community-Based Hepatitis B and C Care for Engaging Housing-Insecure Individuals.

IntroductionHepatitis B and C (HBV/HCV) are bloodborne infections, with individuals who have histories of substance use and homelessness bearing a disproportionate risk. Long-standing difficulties in engaging these populations have made testing and treatment challenging. This retrospective observational study describes a community-based approach to HBV/HCV prevention and treatment, comparing the effectiveness of different engagement site types in reaching and engaging this high-need population.

Domains of Housing Instability and Intimate Partner Violence Risk Among U.S. Tenants.

While IPV is often studied as a predictor of housing insecurity, few U.S. studies explore how different forms of housing instability may contribute to intimate partner violence (IPV) risk.

Perceptions of the Impact and Utility of Battlefield Acupuncture Among Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Qualitative Pilot Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand homeless veterans' perspectives on the utility and impact of Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA).

Design: A qualitative study among veterans with chronic pain who were experiencing homelessness.

Methods And Participants: A subset of twelve Veterans who participated in a in weekly BFA sessions for up to 12 weeks at one VA medical center participated in semi-structured interviews conducted between September 2022 and March 2023.

SARS-CoV-2 Positivity, Indicators of COVID-19 Severity, COVID-19 Hospitalization, and Diabetes Risk in the Women's Health Initiative.

To examine prospective associations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) test positivity, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) symptom severity, and COVID-2019 hospitalization with incident clinical diabetes among aging women. A cohort study was conducted using data from 34,405 eligible Women's Health Initiative participants who completed ≥1 COVID-2019 surveys (Survey 1: June-December 2020; Survey 2: June 2021-February 2022) and were followed up for an average of 1.86 (±0.

Patient and Clinic Characteristics of a Prescribing Psychology Practice in New Mexico.

Little is known about patients treated by prescribing psychologists. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study using electronic health record data of patients (N = 4,540) from a large prescribing psychology clinic in Las Cruces, New Mexico (2017-2023). Data on patient demographics (e.

A Descriptive Study of Perceived Physical Safety Among Service Providers in the Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Programs.

Purpose: Service providers working with homeless populations frequently experience physical safety incidents in their jobs, but little is known about the rate of physical safety events among health and social service providers, in general, and in those serving homeless populations specifically.

Materials And Methods: The current study involved a cross-sectional survey of providers in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Homeless Programs about any work experience that threatened their physical safety and the consequences of such events. A total of 1,273 multidisciplinary service providers completed an anonymous online survey regarding their safety at work.

Evaluation of the Low-Demand Model for Serving Unsheltered Homeless Veterans in Transitional Housing.

Objective: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contracts with community-based agencies to operate its Grant and Per Diem (GPD) transitional housing programs, including a low-barrier model called low demand.

Family incarceration and barriers to mental health care among low-income US veterans.

Background: Family member incarceration is a risk factor for mental health challenges. However, less research has investigated the relationship between family member incarceration and barriers to mental health services.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2023 National Veteran Homeless and Other Poverty Experiences (NV-HOPE) Survey, a nationally representative sample of US veterans living at or below 300 % of the federal poverty level (N = 978).

SynthEHR-Eviction: Enhancing Eviction SDoH Detection with LLM-Augmented Synthetic EHR Data.

Eviction is a significant yet understudied social determinants of health (SDoH), linked to housing instability, unemployment, and mental health. While eviction appears in unstructured electronic health records (EHRs), it is rarely coded in structured fields, limiting downstream applications. We introduce , a scalable pipeline combining LLMs, human-in-the-loop annotation, and automated prompt optimization (APO) to extract eviction statuses from clinical notes.

Psychiatric disorders among older U.S. women by socioeconomic and veteran status.

Objectives: To examine among women ≥65 years: [1] differences in prevalence and incidence of psychiatric disorders, including substance use and mental health disorders, by veteran status; and [2] relationships of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) with psychiatric disorders by veteran status.

Methods: A total of 42,031 study-eligible women ≥65 years at enrollment (1993-1998) from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) - including 1512 veterans - were evaluated for approximately 15 years of follow-up through linked WHI-Medicare databases. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression models were constructed for characteristics associated with prevalent and incident psychiatric disorders, respectively.

Families served during the first decade of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program: a descriptive analysis.

Homelessness impacts entire families, with potential intergenerational consequences. Addressing family homelessness provides both immediate relief and long-term societal benefits. While various programs exist to mitigate homelessness, the United States (US) Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program offers a distinctive model for combating homelessness among veterans by supporting their families as well.

Attitudes and Knowledge about Electroconvulsive therapy among Individuals with Schizophrenia and their Relatives: the Role of Direct Experience.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) remains a stigmatized treatment despite its well-established efficacy and safety in various psychiatric conditions. Among individuals with schizophrenia-who already face high levels of illness-related stigma-ECT-related stigma may represent an additional barrier to treatment acceptance. This case-control study aimed to examine how direct experience with ECT, either personally or through a family member, influences knowledge, perceptions, and treatment acceptance among individuals with schizophrenia and their relatives.

Is Gaining Housing Associated With Higher Rates of Cancer Screening Among US Veterans Experiencing Homelessness?

Purpose: People experiencing homelessness have lower rates of cancer screening than housed people, contributing to later stages at cancer diagnosis and poor outcomes. We examined whether gaining housing increased rates of cancer screening in a cohort of homeless veterans.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining all veterans experiencing homelessness who were eligible for, but not up to date on, colorectal and breast cancer screening from 2011 to 2021.

Rates of Prescription Fentanyl Misuse and Correlated Mental Health, Social, and Service Utilization Factors Among Adults in the United States, 2021.

Background: Misuse of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, can lead to severe consequences, including overdose and death. This study examined sociodemographic, mental health, and service utilization factors associated with past-year fentanyl misuse in the United States.

Methods: We utilized the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a nationally representative sample of the non-institutionalized U.

Sex Differences in Illicitly Manufactured Fentanyl Use: Prevalence and Sociodemographic, Health, and Environmental Correlates.

Objectives: Illegally manufactured fentanyl use (IMFU) constitutes a public health concern. Understanding sex differences in IMFU can help plan population-based interventions.

Methods: We utilized the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a nationally representative sample of the noninstitutionalized US population, to examine sex differences in IMFU and how IMFU relates to sociodemographic and health characteristics.

Protocol for the Houston Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program.

Firearm violence is a leading cause of injury and mortality in the United States. Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) are a promising public health strategy designed to reduce recurrent violence by engaging patients during hospitalization and connecting them to support services after discharge. This protocol describes the design and implementation of the Houston Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (Houston-HVIP), which will be evaluated by a randomized controlled trial conducted at a Level 1 trauma center in Houston, Texas.

Meta-analysis of Critical Time Intervention on Clinical and Psychosocial Outcomes.

Objective: This brief report describes a limited meta-analysis of controlled studies evaluating critical time intervention (CTI) on select clinical and psychosocial outcomes. Outcome data on 14 domains and 3 broad indices across 8 experimental and quasi-experimental studies were analyzed.

Methods: Random-effect meta-analytic models with pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) were used.

Housing status, mental health, and help-seeking among American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans in the Midwest.

Objective: This study aims to examine mental health and help-seeking behaviors among homeless and unstably housed (HUH) and stably housed (SH) American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and non-AIAN veterans in the Midwest.

Methods: The study cohort consisted of veterans in the Veterans Affairs (VA) service catchment area called the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 23. Data from the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) were analyzed with descriptive statistics and the Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio with Wald confidence intervals, and the Breslow-Day test.

Protocol for the Houston Hospital-based violence intervention program.

Firearm violence is a leading cause of injury and mortality in the United States. Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) are a promising public health strategy designed to reduce recurrent violence by engaging patients during hospitalization and connecting them to support services after discharge. This protocol describes the design and implementation of the Houston Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (Houston-HVIP), which will be evaluated by a randomized controlled trial conducted at a Level 1 trauma center in Houston, Texas.

Sex-specific associations between homelessness and cerebrovascular disease among aging US veterans in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

Homelessness and chronic disease have been previously linked. We examined the bidirectional, sex-specific, relationship between homelessness and cerebrovascular disease among aging veterans seeking U.S.

Role of homelessness and incarceration in time-to-decision on veterans affairs disability benefits for a mental health condition.

Homelessness and incarceration are major psychosocial concerns in the United States that may be mitigated by access to disability benefits. Data from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) provides a unique opportunity to study how the process of obtaining disability benefits and time-to-decision might be affected by homelessness and/or incarceration among veterans in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The purpose of this study was to examine how homelessness and/or incarceration status among VHA-enrolled U.