Investigating Sleep Disturbance and Its Correlates Among Formerly Homeless Adults in Permanent Supportive Housing

Adults experiencing homelessness have a high burden of sleep disturbance, which may be reduced by accessing permanent supportive housing.

To assess sleep disturbances and their correlates, including demographics, activity level, health status, age-related health issues (eg, functionality and cognitive impairment), substance use, and homelessness history in a sample of permanent supportive housing (PSH) tenants.

Cross-sectional survey design.

A total of 237 formerly homeless adults between 45 and 80 years old.

The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance short form was used to measure sleep disturbance.

Twenty-eight percent of our sample had PROMIS scores indicative of a moderate or severe sleep disturbance. Functional impairment, pain, and mental health comorbidities were associated with increased sleep disturbance in multivariable linear regression analyses. The number of years a person experienced homelessness was inversely associated with sleep disturbance.

This study supports the need to screen for sleep disturbances among PSH tenants. The findings suggest that supportive services in PSH may need to include integrated physical and behavioral health care, pain management, and interventions designed to address activities of daily livings to improve tenant sleep. They also suggest that improved sleep may help reduce PSH tenant pain, impairment, and mental health symptoms among PSH tenants.