RESIDENTIAL STATUS, DRUG USE, HEALTH AMONG IMPOVERISHED WOMEN

描述（由申请人提供）：更好的居住状况，如被安置，而不是无家可归，并有一个稳定的住所，已与更好的健康。吸毒、艾滋病毒/艾滋病、暴力和心理健康是贫穷妇女面临的严重、相互重叠的问题。这些健康问题在多大程度上与贫困妇女的居住状况有关，这方面的关注有限，但这些数据可能会为创新的预防和干预战略提供信息，并有助于进一步强调住房是国家的公共卫生优先事项。我们提出了一个小的，有时间限制的研究，结合定量和定性的方法，以实现提高我们对居住状态和药物使用，艾滋病毒风险行为（即，这将为今后研究这一群体的居住状况与健康之间关系的实验工作奠定基础。具体目标：1。了解居住状况与健康之间的关系（即，药物使用，艾滋病毒的危险行为，暴力受害，心理健康）的贫困妇女通过二次分析的纵向结构化访谈数据收集的概率样本的402名贫困妇女在收容所采访洛杉矶县。2.进行焦点小组讨论（2至3个小组，每组6-8名参与者）与洛杉矶县贫困妇女的住房、庇护所和其他服务的社区提供者合作，以（a）了解社区背景下贫困妇女的居住状况与健康之间的定量关联，（B）了解当地提供者和决策者目前如何在社区中解决这些关联，及（c）探讨可否在社区进行试验，以测试居住状况与健康的关系。该项目将以一份学术出版物和当地介绍而达到高潮，并计划进行一项实验性试验，以更严格地测试洛杉矶县贫困妇女的居住状况与健康之间的关系。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Better residential status, such as being housed as opposed to being homeless and having a stable residence, has been associated with better health. Drug use, HIV/AIDS, violence, and mental health are serious, overlapping issues among impoverished women. The extent to which these health issues are associated with residential status among impoverished women has received limited attention, yet such data might inform innovative prevention and intervention strategies and could serve to further highlight housing as a public health priority for the nation. We propose a small, time-limited study that blends quantitative and qualitative approaches to achieve the goal of improving our understanding of the relationship between residential status and drug use, HIV risk behaviors (i.e., risky sex), violence, and mental health among impoverished women, and that will serve as a foundation for future experimental work examining the relationship between residential status and health in this population. Specific Aims: 1. Understand the relationship between residential status and health (i.e., drug use, HIV risk behaviors, victimization by violence, mental health) among impoverished women through secondary analyses of longitudinal structured interview data gathered from a probability sample of 402 impoverished women interviewed in shelters in Los Angeles County. 2. Conduct focus groups (2 to 3 groups, 6-8 participants each) with community-based providers of housing, shelter, and other services to impoverished women in Los Angeles County to (a) understand quantitative associations between residential status and health among impoverished women within a community context, (b) understand how the associations can be currently addressed in the community by local providers and policymakers, and (c) explore the feasibility of fielding an experimental trial in the community to test the relationship between residential status and health. This project will culminate with a scholarly publication and local presentation, and plans to field an experimental trial to more rigorously test a relationship between residential status and health among impoverished women in Los Angeles County.