COVID-19 public health data reporting and homelessness: challenges and future directions

ABSTRACT

Data on COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness has been extremely limited, despite known unique risks faced by this population. Gaps in data collection, monitoring, and reporting across multiple systems and government levels create challenges to understanding how COVID-19 is impacting people experiencing homelessness. This article examines these challenges and gaps in public health data on homelessness, presents examples of best practices, and offers policy recommendations for data collection, sharing, and dissemination of pandemic-related health metrics by homelessness status.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• COVID-19
• social determinants of health
• public health data
• social vulnerabilities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Giselle Routhier

Giselle Routhier is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on housing insecurity, homelessness, and health.

Chelsea L. Shover

Chelsea L. Shover is an Assistant Professor-in-Residence in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. She conducts policy relevant research at the intersection of addiction, psychiatry, and infectious disease.

Barbara DiPietro

Barbara DiPietro is the Senior Director of Policy at the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Barbara directs the policy and advocacy activities for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.Katie League is the COVID-19 Project Manager at the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Katie supports the Council’s efforts surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Lorna E. Thorpe

Lorna E. Thorpe is a Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Thorpe is a leading expert in population health surveillance and performing population-based studies. Her current research focuses on the intersection between epidemiology and policy, particularly with respect to chronic disease prevention and management and improving modern forms of public health surveillance.

Kelly M. Doran

Kelly M. Doran is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on how health care systems can better address homelessness and other social determinants of health.