Costs of services for homeless people with mental illness in 5 Canadian cities: a large prospective follow-up study.

Costs of services for homeless people with mental illness in 5 Canadian cities: a large prospective follow-up study. CMAJ Open. 2017 Jul 18;5(3):E576-E585 Authors: Latimer EA, Rabouin D, Cao Z, Ly A, Powell G, Aubry T, Distasio J, Hwang SW, Somers JM, Stergiopoulos V, Veldhuizen S, Moodie EEM, Lesage A, Goering PN, At Home/Chez Soi Investigators Abstract BACKGROUND: Limited evidence on the costs of homelessness in Canada is available. We estimated the average annual costs, in total and by cost category, that homeless people with mental illness engender from the perspective of society. We also identified individual characteristics associated with higher costs. METHODS: As part of the At Home/Chez Soi trial of Housing First for homeless people with mental illness, 990 participants were assigned to the usual-treatment (control) group in 5 Canadian cities (Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal and Moncton) between October 2009 and June 2011. They were followed for up to 2 years. Questionnaires ascertained service use and income, and city-specific unit costs were estimated. We adjusted costs for site differences in sample characteristics. We used generalized linear models to identify individual-level characteristics associated with higher costs. RESULTS: Usable data were available for 937 participants (94.6%). Average annual costs (excluding medications) per person in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal and Moncton w...
Source: cmaj - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: CMAJ Open Source Type: research