Healthcare Utilization Among Children Receiving Permanent Supportive Housing

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Permanent supportive housing (PSH) provides housing and support to homeless individuals and families.
• Impacts of PSH on children's health are not well understood.
• This study investigates healthcare utilization among children in PSH.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine changes in healthcare visits for children enrolled in PSH.
• To compare healthcare utilization in children receiving PSH versus those receiving non-PSH housing services.
• To assess the impact of PSH on pediatric health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Pennsylvania Medicaid administrative data (2011-2016).
• Matched 705 children in PSH with 3141 children in a comparison cohort.
• Used propensity score-weighted difference-in-differences (DID) to compare healthcare visits over 3 years pre- and post-PSH entry.

Main Results:

• Children in PSH had significantly more dental visits compared to the control group (DID: 12.70 visits per 1000 person-months).
• No significant differences in preventive medicine, hospitalizations, or overall emergency department (ED) visits were found.
• Younger children (≤5 years) in PSH showed a trend towards reduced ED visits (DID: -13.16 visits per 1000 person-months), though pre-entry trends differed.

Conclusions:

• PSH is associated with increased dental care utilization among children.
• Younger children entering PSH may benefit from reduced emergency department visits.
• Findings suggest PSH offers specific health advantages for children that policymakers should consider.