{"id":7026711,"date":"2026-08-04T11:22:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T11:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/national-va-study-tracks-homeless-veterans-over-10-and-20-years\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T11:22:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T11:22:29","slug":"national-va-study-tracks-homeless-veterans-over-10-and-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7026711","title":{"rendered":"National VA study tracks homeless veterans over 10 and 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Homelessness shortens lives \"Service<\/h3>\n

Homelessness is both a housing crisis and a major public health crisis. People experiencing homelessness face more illness, injury, and early death. A recent meta-analysis<\/a> found excess mortality across many causes. People also face major barriers to timely and respectful care<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A new <\/a>Medical Care<\/a><\/em> study<\/a> examines these risks among veterans. Both authors are affiliated with the VA\u2019s National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans<\/a>. The Center develops research, programs, and training to address veteran homelessness. Homelessness is both a housing crisis and a major public health crisis.<\/p>\n

The missing timeline<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We know homelessness harms health, but not how those harms build over decades. Most studies capture one night, one program, or one short follow-up period. These snapshots cannot show a complete housing history.<\/p>\n

Researchers rarely know when homelessness started, ended, or returned. We often lack its frequency, duration, and spacing across a lifetime. Federal reviews<\/a> note serious limits in national homelessness measurement. We know homelessness harms health, but not how those harms build over decades.<\/p>\n

A rare national view\"Doctor<\/strong><\/h3>\n

VA data create a rare view of long-term outcomes. The 2004 cohort included 85,533 veterans. The 2014 cohort included 222,974 veterans. National administrative records followed both groups through 2024.<\/p>\n

This design draws strength from the VA setting. Lead author Jack Tsai, PhD, MS, said the VA\u2019s national reach made the long follow-up possible.<\/p>\n

\n

The VA is the largest integrated health care system<\/a> in the United States, with more than 140 medical centers nationwide. That allowed us to follow veterans who moved between medical centers or traveled to different locations. We could examine long-term outcomes, including mortality and VA homeless program use, across many years.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The VA also connects health care, benefits, and homelessness services<\/a>. So, VA data create a rare view of long-term outcomes.<\/p>\n

What continued program use means<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Continued program use can show both need and connection to care. In both cohorts, one-quarter of survivors used VA homelessness programs in 2024. About one-third used emergency or urgent care that year.\u00a0Dr. Tsai emphasized that the study measured long-term service use, not each separate episode of homelessness.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe did not focus on counting every episode of VA homeless program use. We wanted to understand who continued using these programs one or two decades later.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Those visits may reflect persistent homelessness, a later return, or helpful reentry into services. Administrative records cannot fully separate these paths. That distinction remains an important next step for research, Dr. Tsai said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere are important clinical differences between veterans who experienced homelessness throughout the period and those who later returned to homelessness. Future research needs to evaluate those different trajectories.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Other VA research<\/a> shows that care location can affect hospital outcomes. Continued program use can show both need and connection to care.<\/p>\n

A shocking mortality burden<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Access to comprehensive care did not eliminate early death. Half of the 2004 cohort died within 20 years. About one-quarter of the 2014 cohort died within 10 years.<\/p>\n

The mean age at death for homeless veterans was only 63.9 and 65.3 years. Dr. Tsai said many health risks<\/a> may have accumulated long before the study identified veterans through homeless programs.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI suspect much of the risk for premature mortality accumulated over many years. There is no single solution. These findings leave a great deal of room for earlier prevention, but an important question is when that prevention should begin.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He added that prevention may need to occur at several stages of life.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt could begin with adverse childhood experiences, continue into early adulthood, or take place later. We should study prevention strategies that operate at multiple points across the life course.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Earlier research<\/a> and a 2019 presentation<\/a>[pdf] showed elevated deaths among younger veterans. VA research also found major years of potential life lost<\/a>. In those studies, access to comprehensive care did not eliminate early, or excess deaths.<\/p>\n

Health care cannot carry this alone<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Health systems cannot replace stable housing and sustained support. Older age, medical illness, and alcohol use disorder predicted death. Different factors predicted continued homelessness program use.<\/p>\n

The racial findings also require care. White veterans had higher mortality risk, while Black veterans had higher continued program use. Continued housing services<\/a> can lower mortality risk for veterans facing housing instability. Health systems cannot replace stable housing and sustained support.<\/p>\n

Treatment for homeless veterans must last<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Treatment access matters, but continuity matters just as much. Most veterans with substance use disorders received some treatment. However, treatment generally lasted only a short time.<\/p>\n

Short care may not match a long-term or recurring disorder. Stable housing can support health and continued treatment. VA has reduced veteran homelessness by 56% since 2010<\/a>, but this study shows unfinished work. Treatment access matters, but continuity matters just as much.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Ben<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Ben King is an Editor for the Medical Care Blog. He is an epidemiologist by training and an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston’s Tilman J Fertitta Family College of Medicine, in the Departments of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences & Behavioral and Social Sciences. He is also a statistician in the UH Humana Integrated Health Systems Sciences Institute at UH, a Scientific Advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency, and the President of Methods & Results, a research consulting service.
\n
\nHis own research is often focused on the intersection between poverty, housing, & health. Other interests include neuro-emergencies, diagnostics, and a bunch of meta-topics like measurement validation & replication studies. For what it’s worth he has degrees in neuroscience, community health management, and epidemiology.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\"Ben<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\"Ben<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Homelessness shortens lives Homelessness is both a housing crisis and a major public health crisis. People experiencing homelessness face more illness, injury, and early death. A recent meta-analysis found excess mortality across many causes. People also face major barriers to timely and respectful care. A new Medical Care study examines these risks among veterans. Both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7026712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105852],"tags":[19389,5306,2677,20762,23175,1003],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7026711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","tag-homeless","tag-national","tag-study","tag-tracks","tag-veterans","tag-years"],"yoast_head":"\nNational VA study tracks homeless veterans over 10 and 20 years - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7026711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National VA study tracks homeless veterans over 10 and 20 years - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Homelessness shortens lives Homelessness is both a housing crisis and a major public health crisis. 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