At last Monday’s 31st Annual Multi-Campus Family Medicine Research Day, several research posters authored by CBAM staff were presented to attendees as part of the conference agenda. One such poster was entitled “Effects of Mental Health, Substance Use, and Sexual Orientation on HIV Housing Program Outcomes” and authored by CBAM Administrative Assistant Julia De Palma, Postdoctoral Fellow Matthew Worley, and Executive Director Steven Shoptaw.
The research poster summarized an analysis of data collected from residents of Safe House. Until closing its doors last year, Safe House was a program in North Hollywood that provided emergency housing to homeless men and women with HIV/AIDS, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders. The analysis explored associations between several resident characteristics, such as mental health diagnosis and sexual orientation, and housing outcomes after leaving Safe House.
Future research should test different interventions, such as on-site mental health and substance use services, in order to better support residents with a combination of risk characteristics.