Race matters in addressing homelessness: A scoping review and call for critical research.

Structural racism contributes to homelessness in the United States, as evidenced by the stark racial disparities in who experiences it. This paper reviews research at the intersections of race and homelessness to advance efforts to understand and address racial inequities. Part 1 offers a synthesis of homelessness research from the 1980s to 2015, where several scholars examined the role of race and racism despite mainstream efforts to present the issue as race-neutral. Part 2 presents the results of a systematic scoping review of research at the intersections of race and homelessness from 2016 to 2021. The 90 articles included demonstrate a growing, multidisciplinary body of literature that documents how needs and trajectories of people experiencing homelessness differ by race, examines how the racialized structuring of society contributes to homelessness risk, and explores how programs, policies, and grassroots action can address inequities. In addition to charting findings and implications, included studies are appraised against research principles developed by Critical Race Theory scholars, mapping the potential of existing research on race and homelessness to challenge racism.

Reduced Freshwater Mussel Juvenile Production as a Result of Agricultural and Urban Contaminant Mixture Exposures.

Freshwater mussels provide invaluable ecological services but are threatened by habitat alteration, poor water quality, invasive species, climate change, and contaminants, including contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Contaminants of emerging concerns are well documented in aquatic environments, including the Great Lakes Basin, but limited information is available on how environmentally relevant mixtures affect freshwater mussel biology throughout their varied life stages. Our main goal was to assess mussels' reproductive output in response to exposure to agricultural and urban CEC mixtures during glochidial development through juvenile transformation and excystment focusing on how exposure duration and treatment affect: (1) the number of glochidia prematurely released by brooding females, (2) glochidial transformation through host-fish excystment, and (3) the number of fully metamorphosed juveniles able to continue the lifecycle. Mussels and host fish were exposed to either a control water (CW), control ethanol (CE), agriculture CEC mixture (AM), or urban CEC mixture (UM) for 40 and 100 days. We found no effect from treatment or exposure duration on the number of glochidia prematurely released. Fewer partially and fully metamorphosed AM juveniles were observed during the 100-day exposure, compared with the 40-day. During the 40-day exposure, CW produced more fully metamorphosed individuals compared with CE and UM, but during the 100-day exposure AM produced more fully metamorphosed individuals compared with the CW. There was reduction in fully metamorphosed juveniles compared with partially metamorphosed for CE and UM during the 40-day exposure, as well as in the CW during the 100-day exposure. These results will be important for understanding how mussel populations are affected by CEC exposure. The experiments also yielded many insights for laboratory toxicology exposure studies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1112-1125. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Every breath you take: assessing metabolic costs of toxin resistance in garter snakes (Thamnophis).

Trait specialization often comes at the expense of original trait function, potentially causing evolutionary tradeoffs that may render specialist populations vulnerable to extinction. However, many specialized adaptations evolve repeatedly, suggesting selection favors specialization in specific environments. Some garter snake (Thamnophis) populations possess specialized mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels that allow them to consume Pacific newts (Taricha) defended by a highly potent neurotoxin (tetrodotoxin). These mutations, however, also decrease protein and muscle function, suggesting garter snakes may suffer evolutionary tradeoffs. We measured a key physiological process, standard metabolic rate (SMR), to investigate whether specialized adaptations in toxin-resistant garter snakes affect baseline energy expenditure. In snakes, skeletal muscles influence metabolism and power ventilation, so inefficiencies of sodium channels in these muscles might impact whole-animal energy expenditure. Further, because sodium channels are membrane-bound proteins, inefficiencies of channel kinetics and performance might be exacerbated at suboptimal temperatures. We measured SMR in 2 species, Thamnophis atratus and Thamnophis sirtalis, that independently evolved tetrodotoxin resistance through unique mutations, providing replicate experiments with distinct underlying genetics and potential physiological costs. Despite our expectations, neither resistance phenotype nor sodium channel genotype affected metabolism and resistant snakes did not perform worse under suboptimal body temperature. Instead, T. atratus and T. sirtalis show nearly identical rates of mass-adjusted energy expenditure at both temperatures, despite differing eco-morphologies, life histories, and distant phylogenetic positions. These findings suggest SMR may be a conserved feature of Thamnophis, and that any organismal tradeoffs may be compensated to retain whole-animal function.

Organizational trauma-informed care: Associations with individual and agency factors.

In response to the growing awareness of the high rates of potentially traumatic experiences and their potential adverse impacts, health and human service providers have increasingly focused on implementing trauma-informed care (TIC). However, studies focusing on effective implementation have been limited. In this study, we explored the relationship of individual and agency characteristics to the level of organizational TIC. With data collected from a sample of 345 providers from 67 agencies, we used the TICOMETER, a brief measure of organizational TIC with strong psychometric properties, to determine these associations. We found weak relationships between individual factors and TICOMETER scores and stronger associations for agency-level factors. These included agency type, time since last trauma training, and involvement of service users. These findings highlight the importance of robust cultural changes, service user involvement at all levels of the organization, flattening power differentials, and providing ongoing experiential training. This analysis fills an important gap in our knowledge of how best to ensure agency-wide provision of TIC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Universal Design for Underserved Populations: Person-Centered, Recovery-Oriented and Trauma Informed.

Person-centered care has yet to be widely implemented in health care settings, a circumstance that disproportionately affects individuals with behavioral health disorders and those with trauma histories. A need exists for a universal approach to care that encompasses compassionate, collaborative relationships between providers and service users. Person-centered care, enhanced by recovery-oriented care and trauma-informed care, forms the basis for a universal approach to health care. For this paper, we adopted a modified Delphi method to establish consensus on a set of basic principles and practices for developing a universal design based on these three frameworks. We used a two-stage process to arrive at guidelines for use in health and human service settings by: 1) convening an expert panel to draft guidelines; and 2) conducting an online survey of multidisciplinary experts to refine the guidelines. We conclude with recommendations for implementation.

Peer-Delivered Recovery Support Services for Addictions in the United States: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review identifies, appraises, and summarizes the evidence on the effectiveness of peer-delivered recovery support services for people in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Nine studies met criteria for inclusion in the review. They were assessed for quality and outcomes including substance use and recovery-related factors. Despite significant methodological limitations found in the included studies, the body of evidence suggests salutary effects on participants. Current limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The prevalence of mental illness in homeless children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The numbers of children experiencing homelessness have increased. To develop responsive interventions, we must understand their mental health/behavioral needs. The purpose of this systematic review was to update the evidence base by identifying, appraising, and summarizing studies on the prevalence of mental health issues among homeless children, comparing these individuals to low-income-housed children, and discussing research, practice, and policy implications. METHOD: We searched 3 electronic databases and included empirical studies investigating the prevalence of mental illness in homeless children in the United States (1990-2014). Retrieved publications were screened, data extracted, and study quality appraised by independent reviewers. Evidence synthesis was based on qualitative and quantitative analyses. Prevalence odds ratios (OR) of individual studies were pooled using an inverse-variance random effects model. RESULTS: Twelve studies were included and reviewed. Overall, 10% to 26% of homeless preschoolers had mental health problems requiring clinical evaluation. This proportion increased to 24% to 40% among homeless school-age children, a rate 2 to 4 times higher than poor children aged 6 to 11 years in the National Survey of America's Families. According to our meta-analyses, the difference in prevalence measured by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Total Problems (T score ≥60-64) was not significantly different between homeless and housed preschool children (OR = 1.49; 95% CI = 0.97-2.28). School-age homeless children compared to housed children were significantly more likely to have a mental health problem as defined by the CBCL Total Problems subscale (T score ≥60; OR = 1.78; 95% CI = 1.19-2.66). CONCLUSION: Evidence-based mental health interventions for children experiencing homelessness are long overdue. Universal screening, treatment plan development, and support of adaptive systems that focus on positive parenting and children's self-regulation are essential.

The effectiveness of housing interventions and housing and service interventions on ending family homelessness: a systematic review.

Family homelessness has become a growing public health problem over the last 3 decades. Despite this trend, few studies have explored the effectiveness of housing interventions and housing and service interventions. The purpose of this systematic review is to appraise and synthesize evidence on effective interventions addressing family homelessness. We searched 10 major electronic databases from 2007 to 2013. Empirical studies investigating effectiveness of housing interventions and housing and service interventions for American homeless families regardless of publication status were eligible for inclusion. Outcomes included housing status, employment, parental trauma and mental health and substance use, children's behavioral and academic status, and family reunification. Study quality was appraised using the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool. Six studies were included in this review. Overall, there was some postintervention improvement in housing and employment, but ongoing residential and work stability were not achieved. Methodological limitations, poor reporting quality, and inconsistent definitions across outcomes hindered between-study comparisons. Substantial limitations in research underscore the insufficiency of our current knowledge base for ending homelessness. Although many families were no longer literally homeless, long-term residential stability and employment at a livable wage were not ensured. Developing and implementing evidence-based approaches for addressing homelessness are long overdue.