Making Connections: Understanding How Screening, Triage, and Referral Processes Can Promote Veteran Housing Stability

ABSTRACT

To improve understanding of the screening, triage, and referral processes within social determinant of health-Electronic Medical Record (EMR) integration, we explored how Veterans connect with needed resources following screening for housing instability using three data sources: administrative Homelessness Screening Clinical Reminder (HSCR) data, administrative Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) data, and chart review data. The cohort included Veterans who had responded to the HSCR in the 90 days prior to presenting for SSVF services between October 2012 and 2015 (N = 134); chart reviews were abstracted for a sample (n = 53). Most Veterans who presented for SSVF services had screened negative for housing instability (68.7%) on the HSCR, yet chart abstractions demonstrated that more than half connected to triage assistance prior to seeking services irrespective of their screening outcome. Future screening efforts should consider the role of the person administering the screening instrument and critical areas for assessment.

KEYWORDS:

• Screening
• social determinants of health
• homelessness
• housing instability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development under Grant IIR-13-334. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.