Using Positive Psychology to Explain Shelter Use: A Study of Homeless Families in New York City

Moving homeless families into stable housing is an important policy priority, but little is known about how individual and household characteristics affect shelter use. This leaves homeless services providers and policy makers with few tools to make a priori decisions on which to base the targeting of services. Psychologists and economists have found that positive psychological capital leads to improvements in policy-relevant variables like academic achievement, income, and justice system recidivism; this is the first application of that framework to homelessness. This study measures three positive psychological traits – hope, resilience, and self-control – among 276 families who entered shelter in New York City, and uses survival analysis models to examine their relationships with the number of days subsequently spent in shelter and whether families who exited shelter returned. In addition, scores on these scales are compared to those of other populations. Two of the three traits are significantly associated with the duration of shelter use. On an 8-point hope scale, a one-point increase is associated with a reduction of 35 shelter days at p\u3c.05. At the less stringent p\u3c.10 threshold, a one-point increase on a 5-point resilience scale reduced shelter use by 32 days. Additionally, scores on the three scales were similar to those of non-homeless populations. These findings have implications for perceptions of homelessness and suggest solutions to address it. While the models did not accurately predict how long a family will stay in shelter or whether it will return after leaving, a growing body of research suggests that increasing hope and resilience through low-cost, low-burden interventions may reduce total shelter use. In addition, baseline comparisons to other populations suggest that homelessness is not associated with a deficiency of positive psychological attributes, which may be helpful in re-framing the discourse on factors associated with homelessness

Characteristics and likelihood of ongoing homelessness among unsheltered veterans

INTRODUCTION: Unsheltered homelessness is an important phenomenon yet difficult to study due to lack of data. The Veterans Health Administration administers a universal homelessness screener, which identifies housing status for Veterans screening positive for homelessness. METHODS: This study compared unsheltered and sheltered Veterans, assessed differences in rates of ongoing homelessness, and estimated a mixed-effect logistic regression model to examine the relationship between housing status and ongoing homelessness. RESULTS: Eleven percent of Veterans who screened positive for homelessness were unsheltered; 40% of those who rescreened were homeless six months later, compared with less than 20% of sheltered Veterans. Unsheltered Veterans were 2.7 times as likely to experience ongoing homelessness. DISCUSSION: Unsheltered Veterans differ from their sheltered counterparts-they are older, more likely to be male, less likely to have income-and may be good candidates for an intensive housing intervention. Future research will assess clinical characteristics and services utilization among this population

Depression status, medical comorbidity and resource costs: evidence from an international study of major depression in primary care (LIDO)

Background: Despite the burden of depression, there remain few data on its economic consequences in an international context. Aims: To explore the relationship between depression status (with and without medical comorbidity), work loss and health care costs, using cross-sectional data from a multi-national study of depression in primary care. Method: Primary care attendees were screened for depression. Those meeting eligibility criteria were categorised according to DSM–IV criteria for major depressive disorder and comorbid status. Unit costs were attached to self-reported days absent from work and uptake of health care services. Results: Medical comorbidity was associated with a 17–46% increase in health care costs in five of the six sites, but a clear positive association between costs and clinical depression status was identified in only one site. Conclusions: The economic consequences of depression are influenced to a greater (and considerable) extent by the presence of medical comorbidity than by symptom severity alone

FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging in large vessel vasculitis and polymyalgia rheumatica: joint procedural recommendation of the EANM, SNMMI, and the PET Interest Group (PIG), and endorsed by the ASNC

Large vessel vasculitis (LVV) is defined as a disease mainly affecting the large arteries, with two major variants, Takayasu arteritis (TA) and giant cell arteritis (GCA). GCA often coexists with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in the same patient, since both belong to the same disease spectrum. FDG-PET/CT is a functional imaging technique which is an established tool in oncology, and has also demonstrated a role in the field of inflammatory diseases. Functional FDG-PET combined with anatomical CT angiography, FDG-PET/CT(A), may be of synergistic value for optimal diagnosis, monitoring of disease activity, and evaluating damage progression in LVV. There are currently no guidelines regarding PET imaging acquisition for LVV and PMR, even though standardization is of the utmost importance in order to facilitate clinical studies and for daily clinical practice. This work constitutes a joint procedural recommendation on FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging in large vessel vasculitis (LVV) and PMR from the Cardiovascular and Inflammation & Infection Committees of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), the Cardiovascular Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), and the PET Interest Group (PIG), and endorsed by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC). The aim of this joint paper is to provide recommendations and statements, based on the available evidence in the literature and consensus of experts in the field, for patient preparation, and FDG-PET/CT(A) acquisition and interpretation for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with suspected or diagnosed LVV and/or PMR. This position paper aims to set an internationally accepted standard for FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging and reporting of LVV and PMR.status: publishe

FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging in large vessel vasculitis and polymyalgia rheumatica: joint procedural recommendation of the EANM, SNMMI, and the PET Interest Group (PIG), and endorsed by the ASNC

Large vessel vasculitis (LVV) is defined as a disease mainly affecting the large arteries, with two major variants, Takayasu arteritis (TA) and giant cell arteritis (GCA). GCA often coexists with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in the same patient, since both belong to the same disease spectrum. FDG-PET/CT is a functional imaging technique which is an established tool in oncology, and has also demonstrated a role in the field of inflammatory diseases. Functional FDG-PET combined with anatomical CT angiography, FDG-PET/CT(A), may be of synergistic value for optimal diagnosis, monitoring of disease activity, and evaluating damage progression in LVV. There are currently no guidelines regarding PET imaging acquisition for LVV and PMR, even though standardization is of the utmost importance in order to facilitate clinical studies and for daily clinical practice. This work constitutes a joint procedural recommendation on FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging in large vessel vasculitis (LVV) and PMR from the Cardiovascular and Inflammation & Infection Committees of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), the Cardiovascular Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), and the PET Interest Group (PIG), and endorsed by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC). The aim of this joint paper is to provide recommendations and statements, based on the available evidence in the literature and consensus of experts in the field, for patient preparation, and FDG-PET/CT(A) acquisition and interpretation for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with suspected or diagnosed LVV and/or PMR. This position paper aims to set an internationally accepted standard for FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging and reporting of LVV and PMR