EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE: THE IMPACT OF HOUSING ON HIV PREVENTION AND CARE POLICY PAPER FROM THE THIRD HOUSING AND HIV/AIDS RESEARCH SUMMIT

“[R]esearch without action is dusty books on a shelf…and action without research is simply a tantrum. ” – Shirlene Cooper1 OVERVIEW Increasing evidence directs attention to the role of housing – or lack of housing – for the continuing HIV epidemic and associated health disparities. Housing status has been identified as a key structural factor affecting access to treatment and health behaviors among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), and research shows that receipt of housing assistance is associated over time with reduced HIV risk behaviors and improved health care outcomes, controlling for a wide range of individual characteristics (poverty, race/ethnicity, substance use, mental illness) and service use (primary care, case management, substance abuse and/or mental health treatment) variables. These are exciting findings, signifying the potential of housing interventions to improve the health of people living with HIV and reduce the number of new infections. Indeed, data from two large-scale intervention studies, the Chicago Housing for Health Partnership (CHHP) and HUD/CDC Housing and Health (H&H) study, indicate that supportiv