From Department of Behavioral and Social Science, University of Sciences (EM); National Center on Homelessness among Veterans (DS); National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, Birmingham VA Medical Center, and University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham, AL (AEM).
J Am Board Fam Med. 2021 Mar-Apr;34(2):387-391. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2021.02.200333.
Preventing and ending homelessness for women veterans, a priority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), can be aided by identifying factors that increase their risk for housing instability.
This study relied on data from the Veterans Health Administration's universal screen for housing instability from Fiscal Year 2013 to 2016, and administrative data from electronic medical records. Using logistic regression, we compared 2 groups of women veterans: those who consistently had stable housing and those who transitioned to unstable housing after a period of housing stability.
We found that a history of military sexual trauma, lack of access to VA benefits and other financial resources, and single or divorced marital status were significant risk factors for women veterans' housing instability. These findings are consistent with an existing theoretical model of housing instability and homelessness among women veterans, which highlights the importance of traumatic and adverse events and isolation as risk factors.
These risk factors and their effect on women veterans' housing instability can be mitigated by new and increased supportive interventions, targeted to those at highest risk.
预防和终止女性退伍军人无家可归是退伍军人事务部（VA）的优先事项，可以通过确定增加其住房不稳定风险的因素来帮助实现这一目标。
本研究依赖于退伍军人健康管理局从 2013 财年到 2016 年进行的住房不稳定情况普遍筛查的数据，以及电子病历中的行政数据。使用逻辑回归，我们比较了两组女性退伍军人：那些住房一直稳定的人和那些在住房稳定一段时间后住房不稳定的人。
我们发现，军事性创伤史、无法获得 VA 福利和其他财政资源，以及单身或离婚的婚姻状况是女性退伍军人住房不稳定的显著风险因素。这些发现与女性退伍军人住房不稳定和无家可归的现有理论模型一致，该模型强调创伤和不利事件以及孤立作为风险因素的重要性。
通过针对高风险人群的新的和增加的支持性干预措施，可以减轻这些风险因素及其对女性退伍军人住房不稳定的影响。
