EXAMINING HEALTHCARE UTILIZATION AMONG HOMELESS WOMEN: THE ROLES OF CHRONIC ILLNESS, PTSD RELATED SYMPTOMS, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

Homeless women face many psychological and physical challenges to their health, but they often report underutilizing needed healthcare services. This trend in healthcare utilization often leads to further health decline. Research has shown that chronic illness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related symptoms, and social support is associated with differential patterns in healthcare utilization. This study examined how healthcare utilization patterns of homeless women (N=317) related to these factors. The study tested six hypotheses. The first and second hypotheses predicted that increases in PTSD related symptoms and number of chronic health conditions would be associated with increases in healthcare utilization. The third hypothesis predicted that perceived support from friends would moderate the relation between PTSD related symptoms and healthcare utilization. The fourth hypothesis predicted that perceived familial support would not significantly moderate the relation between PTSD related symptoms and healthcare utilization. The fifth hypothesis predicted that perceived support from friends would also moderate the relation between number of chronic health conditions and healthcare utilization. The sixth hypothesis predicted that perceived familial support would not significantly moderate the relation between number of chronic health conditions and healthcare utilization. Results show the only significant predictor of healthcare utilization was the number of chronic health conditions, such that for each additional diagnosis there was a 17% increase in accessing healthcare utilization. Clinical implications, strengths, limitations, and future research are discussed.M.S. in Psychology, July 201