Evaluating the impact of dental care on housing intervention program outcomes among homeless veterans

E. Nunez, G. Gibson, J.A. Jones and J.A. Schinka

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue S2, S368-S373

Abstract: Objectives. In this retrospective longitudinal cohort study, we examined the impact of dental care on outcomes among homeless veterans discharged from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) transitional housing intervention program. Methods. Our sample consisted of 9870 veterans who were admitted into a VA homeless intervention program during 2008 and 2009, 4482 of whom received dental care during treatment and 5388 of whom did not. Primary outcomes of interest were program completion, employment or stable financial status on discharge, and transition to permanent housing. We calculated descriptive statistics and compared the 2 study groups with respect to demographic characteristics, medical and psychiatric history (including alcohol and substance use), work and financial support, and treatment outcomes. Results. Veterans who received dental care were 30% more likely than those who did not to complete the program, 14% more likely to be employed or financially stable, and 15% more likely to have obtained residential housing. Conclusions. Provision of dental care has a substantial positive impact on outcomes among homeless veterans participating in housing intervention programs. This suggests that homeless programs need to weigh the benefits and cost of dental care in program planning and implementation.

Keywords: adult; dental procedure; female; government; health status; homelessness; housing; human; longitudinal study; male; mental health; middle aged; organization and management; retrospective study; United States; veteran; article; dental procedure; organization and management, Adult; Dental Care; Female; Health Status; Homeless Persons; Housing; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans, Adult; Dental Care; Female; Health Status; Homeless Persons; Housing; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301064

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.301064_0

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301064

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().