Homeless Individuals With Co-Occurring Disorders Have Worse Opioid Use Symptom Severity

Primary care consumers with co-occurring disorders who were either unhoused or unstably housed had worse mental health and substance use symptom severity when compared with stably housed individuals, according to a recent study. This suggests that primary care providers should screen patients with co-occurring disorders for being unhoused and also for unstable housing, the researchers stated. Addressing housing instability in primary care settings could lead to improved health outcomes and reduced health care costs, the researchers concluded.

Key findings were as follows:

Unhoused people were more likely to be younger, have received less education, have never married, and . . .