Health Care Utilization in Homeless Youth

Authors: Yolanda N Evans Sara M Handschin Ann E Giesel

Publish Date: 2013/11/19

Volume: 39, Issue: 3, Pages: 521-523

PDF Link

Abstract

To examine common reasons for utilization of health care services at a free homeless youth clinic This is a retrospective chart review for visits over a 1 year period Data on age gender and up to 3 chief complaints per visit were collected from the electronic medical record Of the 744 clinical encounters the mean age of youth was 188 years and 532  involved female patients The most common reasons for utilizing services include screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections STI 143  physical exam for housing 137  dermatologic complaints 135  Chief complaints were different for males and females p ≤ 0001 Females were more likely to receive laboratory testing for STI than males p ≤ 0001 Females were most likely to seek care for sexual and reproductive health needs and males were more likely to come for acute concerns These differences can inform providers working with this vulnerable population

Keywords: