TABLE 1—
Characteristics of Homeless Participants With Any Emergency Department (ED) Use and Frequent Use: Toronto, Ontario, 2005–2009
| Characteristic | Overall (n = 1165), No. (%) or Mean ±SD | Any ED use (n = 892), No. (%) or Mean ±SD | Frequent ED use (n = 117), No. (%) or Mean ±SD |
| Predisposing factors | |||
| Demographic group | |||
| Single adult male | 587 (50.4) | 449 (50.3) | 73 (62.4) |
| Single adult female | 296 (25.4) | 253 (28.4) | 39 (33.3) |
| Family adult | 282 (24.2) | 190 (21.3) | 5 (4.3) |
| Age, y | 36.1 ±12.4 | 35.9 ±12.4 | 38.7 ±12.0 |
| Lifetime duration of homelessness, y | |||
| < 2 | 584 (50.1) | 426 (47.8) | 44 (37.6) |
| ≥ 2 | 581 (49.9) | 466 (52.2) | 73 (62.4) |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White | 650 (55.8) | 522 (58.5) | 78 (66.7) |
| Black | 260 (22.3) | 178 (20.0) | 15 (12.8) |
| Aboriginal | 96 (8.2) | 87 (9.8) | 16 (13.7) |
| Other visible minorities | 159 (13.7) | 105 (11.8) | 8 (6.8) |
| Place of birth | |||
| Canada | 796 (68.3) | 657 (73.7) | 97 (82.9) |
| Outside Canada | 369 (31.7) | 235 (26.4) | 20 (17.1) |
| Highest level of education | |||
| < high school diploma | 587 (50.5) | 469 (52.7) | 71 (60.7) |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 248 (21.3) | 190 (21.4) | 19 (16.2) |
| ≥ college/vocational training | 327 (28.1) | 231 (26.0) | 27 (23.1) |
| History of traumatic brain injury | 553 (47.6) | 452 (50.8) | 72 (61.5) |
| Physical assault in past 12 mo | 330 (28.6) | 267 (30.2) | 42 (35.9) |
| Sexual assault in past 12 mo | 63 (5.5) | 54 (6.1) | 12 (10.4) |
| Current smoker | 826 (71.0) | 667 (74.9) | 100 (85.5) |
| ASI alcohol problem in past 30 d | 339 (29.1) | 271 (30.4) | 51 (43.6) |
| ASI drug problem in past 30 d | 458 (39.1) | 382 (42.8) | 60 (51.3) |
| ASI mental health problem in past 30 d | 438 (37.6) | 360 (40.4) | 61 (52.1) |
| Propensity to underseek care score | |||
| 0 | 670 (57.5) | 512 (57.4) | 62 (53.0) |
| 1 | 228 (19.6) | 167 (18.7) | 28 (23.9) |
| ≥ 2 | 267 (22.9) | 213 (23.9) | 27 (23.1) |
| Enabling factors | |||
| Monthly income, CAN $ | |||
| < 500 | 562 (49.5) | 421 (48.5) | 41 (36.0) |
| 500–999 | 313 (27.6) | 246 (28.3) | 39 (34.2) |
| ≥ 1000 | 260 (22.9) | 201 (23.2) | 34 (29.8) |
| Has a primary care provider | 865 (74.4) | 670 (75.3) | 96 (82.1) |
| Unmet need for health care | 192 (16.5) | 152 (17.1) | 30 (25.6) |
| Unmet need for mental health care | 121 (10.5) | 108 (12.2) | 21 (18.0) |
| Competing priorities | 62 (5.3) | 53 (6.0) | 12 (10.3) |
| MHLC internal subscale score | 27.6 ±5.5 | 27.6 ±5.5 | 27.5 ±5.8 |
| MHLC chance subscale score | 19.6 ±6.4 | 19.6 ±6.4 | 20.4 ±6.6 |
| MHLC powerful others subscale score | 21.0 ±6.9 | 21.0 ±6.8 | 22.7 ±7.0 |
| Social support—short-term loan | 647 (68.0) | 480 (66.2) | 51 (53.1) |
| Social support—ride to appointment | 551 (58.0) | 408 (56.4) | 44 (45.8) |
| Social support—suicide | 655 (69.5) | 492 (68.5) | 59 (62.1) |
| Need factors | |||
| PCS-12 score | 46.0 ±11.2 | 44.9 ±11.3 | 38.9 ±12.9 |
| MCS-12 score | 40.7 ±13.2 | 40.0 ±13.1 | 39.4 ±13.0 |
| No. of chronic health conditions | |||
| None | 470 (40.4) | 321 (36.0) | 32 (27.4) |
| 1 | 324 (27.8) | 249 (28.0) | 21 (18.0) |
| 2 | 202 (17.4) | 173 (19.4) | 22 (18.8) |
| ≥ 3 | 168 (14.4) | 148 (16.6) | 42 (35.9) |
Note. ASI = Addiction Severity Index; MCS-12 = SF-12 mental component summary; MHLC =multidimensional health locus of control; PCS-12 = SF-12 physical component summary.