IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0237905.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A classification model of homelessness using integrated administrative data: Implications for targeting interventions to improve the housing status, health and well-being of a highly vulnerable population

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Byrne
  • Travis Baggett
  • Thomas Land
  • Dana Bernson
  • Maria-Elena Hood
  • Cheryl Kennedy-Perez
  • Rodrigo Monterrey
  • David Smelson
  • Marc Dones
  • Monica Bharel

Abstract

Homelessness is poorly captured in most administrative data sets making it difficult to understand how, when, and where this population can be better served. This study sought to develop and validate a classification model of homelessness. Our sample included 5,050,639 individuals aged 11 years and older who were included in a linked dataset of administrative records from multiple state-maintained databases in Massachusetts for the period from 2011–2015. We used logistic regression to develop a classification model with 94 predictors and subsequently tested its performance. The model had high specificity (95.4%), moderate sensitivity (77.8%) for predicting known cases of homelessness, and excellent classification properties (area under the receiver operating curve 0.94; balanced accuracy 86.4%). To demonstrate the potential opportunity that exists for using such a modeling approach to target interventions to mitigate the risk of an adverse health outcome, we also estimated the association between model predicted homeless status and fatal opioid overdoses, finding that model predicted homeless status was associated with a nearly 23-fold increase in the risk of fatal opioid overdose. This study provides a novel approach for identifying homelessness using integrated administrative data. The strong performance of our model underscores the potential value of linking data from multiple service systems to improve the identification of housing instability and to assist government in developing programs that seek to improve health and other outcomes for homeless individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Byrne & Travis Baggett & Thomas Land & Dana Bernson & Maria-Elena Hood & Cheryl Kennedy-Perez & Rodrigo Monterrey & David Smelson & Marc Dones & Monica Bharel, 2020. "A classification model of homelessness using integrated administrative data: Implications for targeting interventions to improve the housing status, health and well-being of a highly vulnerable popula," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-12, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0237905
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237905
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237905
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237905&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0237905?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kushel, M.B. & Perry, S. & Bangsberg, D. & Clark, R. & Moss, A.R., 2002. "Emergency department use among the homeless and marginally housed: Results from a community-based study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(5), pages 778-784.
    2. Link, B.G. & Susser, E. & Stueve, A. & Phelan, J. & Moore, R.E. & Struening, E., 1994. "Lifetime and five-year prevalence of homelessness in the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 84(12), pages 1907-1912.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Julie Broderick & Sinead Kiernan & Niamh Murphy & Joanne Dowds & Cliona Ní Cheallaigh, 2021. "Feasibility of a Broad Test Battery to Assess Physical Functioning Limitations of People Experiencing Homelessness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-11, January.
    2. Lee, Christopher Thomas & Guzman, David & Ponath, Claudia & Tieu, Lina & Riley, Elise & Kushel, Margot, 2016. "Residential patterns in older homeless adults: Results of a cluster analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 131-140.
    3. Sara Nourazari & Kristina Lovato & Suzie S. Weng, 2021. "Making the Case for Proactive Strategies to Alleviate Homelessness: A Systems Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-12, January.
    4. Downes, Henry & Phillips, David C. & Sullivan, James X., 2022. "The effect of emergency financial assistance on healthcare use," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    5. Moschion, Julie & van Ours, Jan C., 2019. "Do childhood experiences of parental separation lead to homelessness?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 211-236.
    6. Morgane Gabet & Guy Grenier & Zhirong Cao & Marie-Josée Fleury, 2019. "Predictors of Emergency Department Use among Individuals with Current or Previous Experience of Homelessness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Vincent A. Fusaro & Helen G. Levy & H. Luke Shaefer, 2018. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Lifetime Prevalence of Homelessness in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2119-2128, December.
    8. James O'Donnell, 2020. "Estimating annual rates of homelessness," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(1), pages 1-34.
    9. O'Flaherty, Brendan, 2004. "Wrong person and wrong place: for homelessness, the conjunction is what matters," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, March.
    10. Miyawaki, Atsushi & Burke, Laura G. & Khullar, Dhruv & Tsugawa, Yusuke, 2020. "Comparison of 30-day readmission and emergency department revisit rates among homeless patients at teaching versus non-teaching hospitals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    11. Marah A. Curtis & Hope Corman & Kelly Noonan & Nancy E. Reichman, 2012. "Life Shocks and Homelessness," Working Papers 1374, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    12. Rosanna Scutella & Guy Johnson, 2012. "Locating and Designing 'Journeys Home': A Literature Review (Journeys Home: A Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Housing Stability)," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2012n11, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    13. McVicar, Duncan & Moschion, Julie & van Ours, Jan C., 2015. "From substance use to homelessness or vice versa?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 89-98.
    14. Peter D. Killworth & Christopher McCarty & H. Russell Bernard & Gene Ann Shelley & Eugene C. Johnsen, 1998. "Estimation of Seroprevalence, Rape, and Homelessness in the United States Using a Social Network Approach," Evaluation Review, , vol. 22(2), pages 289-308, April.
    15. repec:pri:crcwel:wp12-03-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Chisom N. Iwundu & Pooja Agrawal & Michael S. Businelle & Darla E. Kendzor & Lorraine R. Reitzel, 2020. "Predictors of Overnight and Emergency Treatment among Homeless Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-9, June.
    17. O’Flaherty, Brendan, 2012. "Individual homelessness: Entries, exits, and policy," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 77-100.
    18. Maryse Marpsat, 2008. "The ined research on homelessness, 1993-2008," Working Papers 156, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED).
    19. Schwartz, Gabriel L. & Leifheit, Kathryn M. & Arcaya, Mariana C. & Keene, Danya, 2024. "Eviction as a community health exposure," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    20. Robert F. Schoeni & Paul Koegel, 1998. "Economic Resources Of The Homeless: Evidence From Los Angeles," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 16(3), pages 295-308, July.
    21. Padgett, Deborah K., 2007. "There's no place like (a) home: Ontological security among persons with serious mental illness in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(9), pages 1925-1936, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0237905. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.