Prediction of homelessness within three months of discharge among inpatients with schizophrenia

Objective: The authors' goal was to identify factors that place inpatients with schizophrenia at risk of becoming homeless after hospital discharge, M ethods: Patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (N=263) wer e assessed at discharge from general hospitals in New York City and reasses sed three months later to evaluate whether they had become homeless. Sociod emographic and clinical characteristics associated with homelessness were i dentified using likelihood ratio chi square analysis and logistic regressio n. Results: Twenty patients (7.6 percent) reported an episode of homelessne ss during the follow-up period. Patients who had a drug use disorder at hos pital discharge were significantly more likely to report becoming homeless than those without a drug use disorder, Patients with a total score above 4 0 on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at hospital discharge were m ore likely to report becoming homeless than patients with lower scores, as mere those with Global Assessment Scores less than 43, Twelve of 30 patient s with a drug use disorder, a BPRS score above 40, and a GAS score less tha n 43 at hospital discharge reported becoming homeless. Conclusions: The com bination of a drug use disorder, persistent psychiatric symptoms, and impai red global functioning at the time of hospital discharge poses a substantia l short-term risk of homelessness among patients with schizophrenia. Patien ts who fit this profile may be candidates for community-based programs that are specifically aimed at preventing homelessness among patients with seve re mental illness.