Emergency Department Visits by Homeless Status and Sex: United States, 2016-2021

Objectives-This report describes emergency department (ED) visits by homeless status and sex. Methods-Nationally representative estimates were calculated from data collected in the 2016-2021 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual national probability sample survey of ED visits in the United States. Visits by people experiencing homelessness were defined using data on patient residence from medical records. Visits by males and females experiencing homelessness are compared with each other and with visits by males and females not experiencing homelessness. Results-During 2016-2021, approximately 981,000 and 460,000 ED visits were made annually by males and females experiencing homelessness, respectively. Significant differences by sex were found for this population for many ED visit characteristics, including arrival by ambulance, diagnoses, and chronic conditions. ED visits by males and females experiencing homelessness also differed significantly from ED visits by males and females not experiencing homelessness based on age, geographic region, expected source of payment, primary diagnosis, chronic conditions, and other characteristics. Conclusion-This report highlights certain differences by sex among the population experiencing homelessness who visited the ED and compares them with people who visited the ED but were not experiencing homelessness.