Rivera-Rivera Naiomi, Villarreal Angel A
VA Caribbean Health Care System, San Juan, PR.
Adler University, Chicago, IL.
Rev Puertorriquena Psicol. 2021 Jan-Jun;32(1):64-73. Epub 2021 Dec 12.
This research assesses sociodemographic, psychosocial, and military characteristics and their role in homelessness programs readmission to provide a profile of the Caribbean Homeless Veteran of the U.S. military. We evaluated 620 healthcare records of veterans who requested services at the Homeless Program of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System from 2005 to 2014. Statistical analyses consisted of Chi square, Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon-Rank Sum tests, and generalized linear models of regression with Poisson distribution. Homeless veterans were characterized by being male, serving in the Army, having low social support, poor house affordability, extreme poverty, unemployment, and psychiatric disorders. Veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn conflicts exhibited more readmission prevalence risk ratio overall and when adjusted for all factors than veterans of previous conflicts. Psychosocial factors such as substance use, social isolation, legal problems, and psychiatric disorders were identified in the readmission process. Results suggest assistance beyond housing is needed to end veteran homelessness.
本研究评估社会人口统计学、心理社会及军事特征及其在无家可归退伍军人项目再入院中的作用，以描绘美国军队加勒比地区无家可归退伍军人的概况。我们评估了2005年至2014年期间在VA加勒比医疗系统无家可归项目中寻求服务的退伍军人的620份医疗记录。统计分析包括卡方检验、费舍尔精确检验、威尔科克森秩和检验以及泊松分布的广义线性回归模型。无家可归退伍军人的特征为男性、服役于陆军、社会支持低、住房负担能力差、极端贫困、失业和患有精神疾病。与之前冲突的退伍军人相比，伊拉克自由行动、持久自由行动和新黎明行动冲突中的退伍军人总体上以及在调整所有因素后表现出更高的再入院患病率风险比。在再入院过程中发现了诸如药物使用、社会隔离、法律问题和精神疾病等心理社会因素。结果表明，要结束退伍军人无家可归的状况，需要提供住房以外的援助。
