Table 1.
Cohort characteristics at the start of a randomly selected housing episode, by source
| Characteristic | Validation participants (n=137 886) | HHiT sample study (n=686) | General population sample (n=137 200) | P value |
| Mean % (SD) of period spent homeless | n/a | 40.4% (29.4%) | n/a | n/a |
| Median days (IQR) of homelessness episode | n/a | 75 (29–181) | n/a | n/a |
| Age, mean (SD) | 46.1 (18.0) | 43.5 (10.6) | 46.1 (18.0) | <0.001 |
| Female, n (%) | 70 535 (51.2) | 208 (30.3) | 70 327 (51.3) | <0.001 |
| Located in Ottawa, n (%) | 104 059 (75.5) | 357 (52) | 103 702 (75.6) | <0.001 |
| Located in Toronto, n (%) | 33 827 (24.5) | 329 (48) | 33 498 (24.4) | <0.001 |
| Recent immigrant, n (%) | 32 657 (23.7) | 45 (6.6) | 32 612 (23.8) | <0.001 |
| Date of immigration, n (%) | ||||
| <1 year | 1152 (0.8) | ≤5 | NR | <0.001 |
| 1–3 years | 2381 (1.7) | ≤5 | NR | |
| 4–10 years | 9606 (7.0) | 9 (1.3) | 9597 (7.0) | |
| Over 10 years | 19 518 (14.2) | 33 (4.8) | 19 485 (14.2) | |
| Refugee status, n (%) | 5907 (4.3) | 18 (2.6) | 5889 (4.3) | <0.001 |
| Congestive heart failure, n (%) | 2186 (1.6) | 6 (0.9) | 2180 (1.6) | 0.14 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, n (%) | 6627 (4.8) | 91 (13.3) | 6536 (4.8) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 11 332 (8.2) | 67 (9.8) | 11 265 (8.2) | 0.14 |
| HIV, n (%) | 402 (0.3) | 30 (4.4) | 372 (0.3) | <0.001 |
| Chronic kidney disease*, n (%) | 2431 (1.8) | 20 (2.9) | 2411 (1.8) | 0.02 |
| Chronic liver disease*, n (%) | 2939 (2.1) | 87 (12.7) | 2852 (2.1) | <0.001 |
| Mental health-related care†, n (%) | ||||
| Psychotic disorders | 928 (0.7) | 76 (11.1) | 852 (0.6) | <0.001 |
| Non-psychotic disorders | 15 128 (11.0) | 248 (36.2) | 14 880 (10.8) | <0.001 |
| Substance use disorders | 1640 (1.2) | 204 (29.7) | 1436 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, n (%) | ||||
| 0 | 7866 (5.7) | 86 (12.5) | 7780 (5.7) | <0.001 |
| 1 | 1589 (1.2) | 25 (3.6) | 1564 (1.1) | |
| 2+ | 2476 (1.8) | 25 (3.6) | 2451 (1.8) | |
| No hospitalisation | 125 955 (91.3) | 550 (80.2) | 125 405 (91.4) | |
| Primary care visits†, mean (SD) | 13.0 (17.5) | 21.1 (31.7) | 12.9 (17.4) | <0.001 |
| Emergency department visits†, mean (SD) | 1.6 (1.7) | 3.9 (5.1) | 1.6 (1.5) | <0.001 |
| Hospitalisations†, mean (SD) | 1.3 (0.9) | 1.7 (1.4) | 1.3 (0.9) | <0.001 |
Cells representing ≤5 individuals are suppressed to protect participant privacy. Individual immigration status defined based on presence of a landing date in the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Permanent Resident Database from 1985 to 2018.
*Within the past 3 years.
†Occurring in the past year.
HHiT, Health and Housing in Transition study; n/a, not applicable; NR, not reportable, due to associated small cell suppression; NS, not significant.