A Good Farewell? Positive Exits from Federal Housing Assistance and Lower Acute Healthcare Utilization

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Socioeconomic Determinants of Health

Background:

• Limited understanding exists on health outcomes post-housing assistance exit.
• Health impacts may differ based on exit circumstances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if exit type from housing assistance affects healthcare utilization.
• To compare healthcare utilization across different exit types and remaining in assistance.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 5550 exits from public housing authorities (2012-2018).
• Examined emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and well-child checks in the year following exit.
• Classified exits as positive, neutral, or negative.

Main Results:

• Positive exits were associated with 26% lower odds of emergency department visits compared to negative exits.
• Positive exits showed 20% lower odds of emergency department visits than remaining in housing assistance.
• Neutral and negative exits showed similar, detrimental health outcomes with increased emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Conclusions:

• The manner of exiting housing assistance critically influences health outcomes.
• Negative exits are associated with poorer health utilization, necessitating preventative strategies.
• Interventions should aim to prevent negative exits and mitigate their adverse health effects.