Defining Homelessness in Public Health Data Collection : Considerations and Examples
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Defining Homelessness in Public Health Data Collection : Considerations and Examples

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  • Corporate Authors:
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of Readiness and Response
  • Content Notes:
    Understanding whether a case of infectious disease has occurred in a person who is experiencing homelessness is necessary to recognize transmission patterns, plan interventions, and prepare for potentially severe disease outcomes. As such, homelessness is a critical piece of information to gather during public health surveillance and investigations.

    The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness here: HUD’s Definition of Homelessness: Resources and Guidance (HUD Exchange). However, the experience of homelessness can be variable, which may complicate defining a data element specific to public health outcomes. Furthermore, data on homelessness come from multiple sources, such as homeless service records, electronic health records, or interviews. Data collected passively or from multiple sources through system matching or integration requires a definition described in “inclusion” criteria. Data collection through interviews requires specific questions tailored to the epidemiologic question of interest. Data collection from both sources requires a predetermined conceptual definition and a plan for implementation.

    The following provides considerations for creating the conceptual definition of homelessness for data collection in case report forms and survey instruments for infectious disease data collection. This resource is designed to inform discussion prior to public health data collection and is not designed to determine eligibility requirements for housing or other social support services.

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