Table 3.
Logistic regression analysis to estimate the association between Indigenous ethnicity and homelessness, mental and physical illness and service utilisation among Vancouver and Winnipeg ‘At Home’ participants (n=1010)
| Dependent variable | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) |
P value | Adjusted† OR (95% CI) |
P value |
| Homelessness | ||||
| Age first homeless (<25 years) | 1.54 (1.19 to 1.98) | 0.001* | 1.56 (1.06 to 2.27) | 0.023* |
| Lifetime duration of homelessness (More than 3 years) | 1.36 (1.05 to 1.75) | 0.018* | 1.41 (1.01 to 2.0) | 0.041* |
| Longest single episode of homelessness (more than 1 year) | 1.26 (0.98 to 1.63) | 0.074 | 1.10 (0.79 to 1.52) | 0.590 |
| Mental illness | ||||
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | 2.76 (2.12 to 3.60) | <0.001* | 1.91 (1.35 to 2.70) | <0.001* |
| Multiple mental disorders (>2) | 1.91 (1.48 to 2.47) | <0.001* | 1.27 (0.90 to 1.78) | 0.169 |
| Less severe mental disorder | 3.92 (2.89 to 5.32) | <0.001* | 1.72 (1.16 to 2.56) | 0.008* |
| Severe mental disorder | 0.46 (0.35 to 0.59) | <0.001* | 0.73 (0.50 to 1.07) | 0.104 |
| Substance use | ||||
| Current alcohol dependence | 5.32 (4.06 to 6.97) | <0.001* | 2.64 (1.90 to 3.68) | <0.001* |
| Current substance dependence | 1.18 (0.92 to 1.51) | 0.201 | 1.31 (0.92 to 1.86) | 0.132 |
| Age first alcohol use (after >14; <13) | 1.82 (1.41 to 2.35) | <0.001* | 1.35 (0.97 to 1.87) | 0.077 |
| Age first drug use (After >14; <13) | 1.90 (1.46 to 2.46) | <0.001* | 1.68 (1.20 to 2.37) | 0.003* |
| Global Assessment of Individual Need score (0–3 less severe); (4–5 severe) substance use in past month | 2.02 (1.53 to 2.67) | <0.001* | 2.43 (1.67 to 3.56) | <0.001* |
| Chronic disease | ||||
| Infectious (bloodborne) disease—HIV, hepatitis C or hepatitis B | 1.10 (0.83 to 1.46) | 0.489 | 1.59 (1.08 to 2.34) | 0.018* |
| Multiple comorbid conditions (two or more) | 1.65 (1.15 to 2.40) | 0.007* | 1.02 (0.64 to 1.64) | 0.923 |
| Three or more physical conditions | 1.90 (1.41 to 2.60) | <0.001* | 1.28 (0.87 to 1.90) | 0.212 |
| Service use | ||||
| Have regular medical doctor | 1.27 (0.97 to 1.65) | 0.080 | 1.49 (1.05 to 2.10) | 0.024* |
| Needed healthcare but did not receive it in past 6 months | 1.19 (0.93 to 1.54) | 0.167 | 0.79 (0.57 to 1.10) | 0.166 |
| Taken to emergency room (ER) in P6M | 1.21 (0.94 to 1.56) | 0.145 | 1.37 (0.99 to 1.92) | 0.062 |
| Multiple ER visit (>1 visit) | 0.89 (0.68 to 1.16) | 0.382 | 1.07 (0.75 to 1.51) | 0.719 |
| Taken by ambulance to hospital P6M | 1.29 (1.0 to 1.67) | 0.052 | 1.86 (1.32 to 2.61) | <0.001* |
| Arrested in the past 6 months | 0.89 (0.68 to 1.17) | 0.416 | 1.10 (0.76 to 1.60) | 0.604 |
| Court appearances P6M | 0.95 (0.73 to 1.25) | 0.717 | 1.06 (0.74 to 1.52) | 0.761 |
| Participated in justice service programmes (eg, drug treatment court, mental health court, Indigenous justice) | 1.30 (0.86 to 1.96) | 0.218 | 1.13 (0.66 to 1.94) | 0.652 |
*P<0.05.
†Controlled for age (continuous), gender (male, female), need level (high, moderate), marital status (single, other), site (Vancouver, Winnipeg), education (high school or higher, less than high school), have children (under 18).