Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
DC Center for AIDS Research, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 2125 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 21;19(13):7561. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19137561.
People who use drugs are highly marginalized communities and are disproportionately affected by environmental changes-e.g., neighborhood gentrification-that affect housing availability and stability, particularly in urban locations. These changes could negatively affect individuals' access to and utilization of health care and social services, resulting in poorer health outcomes. This study examined the impact of gentrification and housing instability on drug users' access to harm reduction and other health services. Data were collected from 139 clients of a large harm reduction organization. Results showed that 67% of the participants were either unstably housed or homeless, and about one-third of participants indicated that their current housing situations negatively affected their access to primary care (33.9%), behavioral health services (36.7%) and basic services (38.3%). While homeless individuals were still able to access services generally, a greater percentage-compared to those unstably or stably housed-reported difficulty accessing care. As these data were collected prior to the COVID pandemic, it is likely that many of our participants faced greater struggles with housing insecurity and health care access issues due to shutdowns and increased need for social isolation and quarantine. More work is needed to address housing instability and homelessness among already marginalized populations.
吸毒者是高度边缘化的群体，受到环境变化的影响不成比例，例如社区高档化，这会影响住房的供应和稳定性，尤其是在城市地区。这些变化可能会对个人获得和利用医疗保健和社会服务产生负面影响，导致健康状况恶化。本研究探讨了高档化和住房不稳定对吸毒者获得减少伤害和其他健康服务的影响。数据来自一家大型减少伤害组织的 139 名客户。结果表明，67%的参与者住房不稳定或无家可归，约三分之一的参与者表示当前的住房状况对他们获得初级保健（33.9%）、行为健康服务（36.7%）和基本服务（38.3%）产生负面影响。虽然无家可归者仍然能够获得一般服务，但与住房不稳定或稳定的参与者相比，更多的人报告说难以获得护理。由于这些数据是在 COVID 大流行之前收集的，因此我们的许多参与者可能由于关闭以及对社会隔离和检疫的需求增加，在住房无保障和获得医疗保健方面面临更大的困难。需要做更多的工作来解决已经边缘化的人群中的住房不稳定和无家可归问题。
