TABLE 2—
Baseline Health Status and Health Care Utilization of 204 Older Homeless Participants by Housing Status at Follow-Up: Boston, MA, January–June 2010
| Housing Status at Follow-Up |
|||
| Characteristic at Baseline | Homeless (n = 120) | Housed (n = 84) | P |
| Outcome measures | |||
| ADL difficulties, no. (%) | .6 | ||
| 0 | 81 (68) | 58 (69) | |
| 1–2 | 29 (24) | 22 (26) | |
| 3–5 | 10 (8) | 4 (5) | |
| No. of IADL difficulties, no. (%) | .33 | ||
| 0 | 49 (41) | 36 (43) | |
| 1–2 | 52 (43) | 29 (35) | |
| 3–6 | 19 (16) | 19 (23) | |
| Depressive symptoms, mean (SD)a | 8.5 (7.5) | 8.9 (7.3) | .7 |
| Symptoms of urinary incontinence, mean (SD)b | 4.4 (5.6) | 4.5 (5.9) | .88 |
| Previous year health care use | |||
| Self-reported emergency department visits, no. (%) | .66 | ||
| 0 | 38 (32) | 24 (29) | |
| 1–3 | 49 (41) | 39 (48) | |
| ≥ 4 | 32 (27) | 19 (23) | |
| Self-reported no. of hospitalizations, median (IQR) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–1) | .2 |
| Other measures of health status and health care use | |||
| Self-rated general health good, very good, or excellent, no. (%) | 74 (62) | 47 (56) | .41 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score, no. (%) | .89 | ||
| 0 | 47 (39) | 31 (37) | |
| 1–2 | 45 (38) | 31 (37) | |
| ≥ 3 | 28 (23) | 22 (26) | |
| Depression, lifetime history | 62 (52) | 56 (68) | .02 |
| Alcohol use problem,c no. (%) | 21 (18) | 15 (18) | .99 |
| Drug use problem,d no. (%) | 19 (16) | 16 (19) | .54 |
| Geriatric conditions | |||
| Falls during past year, 1 or more, no. (%) | 62 (52) | 50 (60) | .23 |
| Mobility impairment,e no. (%) | 50 (42) | 37 (44) | .74 |
| Cognitive status | |||
| MMSE score, mean (SD) | 26.2 (3.2) | 26.3 (3.3) | .8 |
| MMSE impairment,f no. (%) | 30 (25) | 22 (26) | .87 |
| TMT-B mean (SD) | 132.9 (67.2) | 135.9 (67.3) | .77 |
| TMT-B impairment,g no. (%) | 39 (35) | 24 (29) | .38 |
| Sensory impairment, no. (%) | |||
| Hearing impairment, self-report | 42 (35) | 23 (28) | .27 |
| Visual impairment, self-report | 31 (26) | 30 (36) | .13 |
| Health services | |||
| Insurance,h no. (%) | 112 (94) | 81 (98) | .31 |
| Medicare | 100 (89) | 73 (90) | .85 |
| Medicaid | 24 (21) | 16 (20) | .78 |
| Military | 14 (13) | 10 (12) | .97 |
| Private | 1 (1) | 2 (3) | .57 |
| Usual source of medical care, no. (%) | 79 (68) | 68 (84) | .009 |
Note. ADL = activity of daily living; IADL = instrumental activity of daily living; IQR = interquartile ratio; MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination; TMT-B = Trail Making Test Part B.
Depressive symptoms measured using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (range = 0–27; lower scores indicate fewer symptoms).
Symptoms of urinary incontinence measured using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (range = 0–21; lower scores indicate fewer symptoms).
Alcohol use problem defined as an Addiction Severity Index score ≥ 0.17.
Drug use problem defined as an Addiction Severity Index score ≥ 0.10.
Mobility impairment defined as self-reported difficulty walking.
MMSE impairment defined as an MMSE score < 24.
TMT-B impairment defined as a test duration > 1.5 standard deviations above population-based norms or as stopping the test early.
Percentages for type of insurance add to > 100% because some participants had >1 type of insurance.