Housing versus treatment first for supportive housing participants with substance use disorders: A comparison of housing and public service use outcomes.

Background: Homeless persons with substance use disorders (SUD) have high disease risk, poor access to health care, and are frequent users of Medicaid and other social services. Low-demand supportive housing with no prerequisites for treatment or sobriety has been shown to improve housing stability and decrease public service use for chronically homeless persons with serious mental illness (SMI) and chronic medical conditions. The impact of low-demand housing on individuals with SUD but without co-occurring SMI has been little studied. This evaluation compares housing retention and use of crisis public services (jail, emergency department visits, hospitalization, and substance detoxification) between individuals treated and untreated for SUD before move-in to a low-demand supportive housing program in New York City. Methods: The authors used matched administrative records for individuals with SUD but no SMI placed in supportive housing during 2007-2012. Participants received SUD treatment (n = 1425; treated participants) or were not treated (n = 512; active users) at housing application. Propensity score-weighted regression analyses were used to best estimate the effect of SUD treatment on incarceration, public service utilization, and housing retention. Results: Persons not treated for SUD had a significantly longer tenure in supportive housing than treated participants. However, not treated tenants were more likely to be incarcerated. Opioid agonist therapy and older age decreased the risk of housing discharge, whereas detoxification and inpatient SUD treatment increased the risk of discharge. Conclusions: Persons with SUD can achieve residential stability in supportive housing that does not require SUD treatment before admission.

Supportive Housing Promotes AIDS-Free Survival for Chronically Homeless HIV Positive Persons with Behavioral Health Conditions.

We assessed the influence of supportive housing, incarceration, and health service use on markers of HIV infection for people living with HIV and serious mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD) participating in a New York City supportive housing program (NY III). Using matched administrative data from 2007 to 2014, we compared survivor time without AIDS, achievement of undetectable viral load, and maintenance of viral suppression between NY III tenants (n = 696), applicants placed in other supportive housing programs (n = 333), and applicants not placed in supportive housing (n = 268). Inverse probability of treatment weights were applied to Cox proportional hazards regression models to account for confounding of observed variables. Individuals not placed in supportive housing had a significantly greater risk of death or AIDS diagnosis than NY III tenants [adjusted hazard ratio = 1.84 (1.40, 2.44), p < 0.001]. Incarceration and outpatient SUD treatment were significantly associated with negative short-term outcomes (time to undetectable viral load) but positive long-term outcomes (time to death or AIDS diagnosis). Supportive housing, SUD treatment, and incarceration were associated with prolonged survival without AIDS among supportive housing applicants living with HIV.

Workers not Paid for Sick Leave after Implementation of the New York City Paid Sick Leave Law.

This study examined factors associated with being paid for sick leave after implementation of the New York City (NYC) paid sick leave law. A random sample of NYC residents was surveyed by telephone multiple times over a 2-year period. Participants (n = 1195) reported socio-demographics, awareness of the law, income, work hours per week, and payment for sick time off work. In the year after implementation of the law, part-time workers were significantly more likely to attend work while sick than full-time workers (relative risk = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.1, 1.4). Seventy percent of workers who missed work due to illness (n = 249) were paid for sick leave. Part-time workers, respondents not aware of the benefit (30% of workers), and workers without a college degree were the least likely to be paid for sick days. More than one third (37%) of persons not paid for sick leave worked in retail, food service, or health care. Although 70% of respondents were paid for sick leave after implementation of the law, part-time workers and workers with low education were least likely to access the benefit and more likely to work while sick. The disparity in paid sick leave may have public health consequences as many persons not paid for sick leave had occupations that carry a high risk of disease transmission to others.

Whole-genome association study on tissue tropism phenotypes in group A Streptococcus.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) has a rich evolutionary history of horizontal transfer among its core genes. Yet, despite extensive genetic mixing, GAS strains have discrete ecological phenotypes. To further our understanding of the molecular basis for ecological phenotypes, comparative genomic hybridization of a set of 97 diverse strains to a GAS pangenome microarray was undertaken, and the association of accessory genes with emm genotypes that define tissue tropisms for infection was determined. Of the 22 nonprophage accessory gene regions (AGRs) identified, only 3 account for all statistically significant linkage disequilibrium among strains having the genotypic biomarkers for throat versus skin infection specialists. Networked evolution and population structure analyses of loci representing each of the AGRs reveal that most strains with the skin specialist and generalist biomarkers form discrete clusters, whereas strains with the throat specialist biomarker are highly diverse. To identify coinherited and coselected accessory genes, the strength of genetic associations was determined for all possible pairwise combinations of accessory genes among the 97 GAS strains. Accessory genes showing very strong associations provide the basis for an evolutionary model, which reveals that a major transition between many throat and skin specialist haplotypes correlates with the gain or loss of genes encoding fibronectin-binding proteins. This study employs a novel synthesis of tools to help delineate the major genetic changes associated with key adaptive shifts in an extensively recombined bacterial species.

Association between primary heath care and dental service use among supportive housing tenants with behavioral health conditions.

OBJECTIVE: Homeless persons are at high risk for poor oral health. Supportive housing can improve housing stability for persons with behavioural health conditions, but its impact on dental service use has been little studied. METHODS: Data for this evaluation come from matched public service records for eligible applicants to a New York City supportive housing program (NY III) targeting chronic homelessness. NY III tenants (N = 5678) were compared with applicants not placed in housing (N = 6536) and applicants placed in other supportive housing programmes (N = 4823). Regression analysis was used to assess the association between supportive housing, primary care use, clinical severity and the likelihood of dental visits. RESULTS: Over four observation years, 71% of applicants had at least one dental visit for any cause and 57% for preventive dental care. Incidence of dental visits was lower for persons with physical disability (IRR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.85, 0.97, P = .003), psychiatric hospital stays (IRR = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.68, 0.88, P < .001) and age over 54. Persons engaged in primary care (IRR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.21, 1.31, P < .001) and outpatient mental health care (IRR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.12, 1.21, P < .001) had greater incidence of dental visits. CONCLUSIONS: Supportive housing was associated with greater dental service use. The positive association between primary care, mental health care and dental care suggests important points of entry for dental care. Oral health education and service referrals in supportive housing and primary care settings may improve oral health service delivery to persons experiencing social exclusion due to homelessness, mental illness and poor oral health.

Impact of a New York City Supportive Housing Program on Housing Stability and Preventable Health Care among Homeless Families.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a New York City supportive housing program on housing stability and preventable emergency department (ED) visits/hospitalizations among heads of homeless families with mental and physical health conditions or substance use disorders. DATA SOURCES: Multiple administrative data from New York City and New York State for 966 heads of families eligible for the program during 2007-12. STUDY DESIGN: We captured housing events and health care service utilization during 2 years prior to the first program eligibility date (baseline) and 2 years postbaseline. We performed sequence analysis to measure housing stability and compared housing stability and preventable ED visits and hospitalizations between program participants (treatment group) and eligible applicants not placed in the program (comparison group) via marginal structural modeling. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We matched electronically collected data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eighty-seven percent of supportive housing tenants experienced housing stability in 2 years postbaseline. Compared with unstably housed heads of families in the comparison group, those in the treatment group were 0.60 times as likely to make preventable ED visits postbaseline (95% CI = 0.38, 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Supportive housing placement was associated with improved housing stability and reduced preventable health care visits among homeless families.

Relative quantitation of virus population size in mixed genotype infections using sequencing chromatograms.

In order to quantitatively distinguish between highly similar RNA sequences, specific primers or probes must be designed. Unfortunately, consistent and reliable results are not always obtained with conventional techniques. This study uses reverse transcription-PCR coupled with direct terminator sequencing to economically and efficiently distinguish between sequence types in pooled samples while providing accurate relative quantification. As an example, the method is applied to measure template concentration of two Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV; family Luteoviridae) species in doubly infected wheat plants. A PERL script (polySNP) was developed that uses PHRED to automatically extract relative peak areas and heights from sequencing chromatograms at polymorphic sites. Peak measurements from experimental samples were compared to a standard curve generated by mixing in vitro transcribed RNA from BYDV-PAV and PAS templates in several ratios (ranging from 1:9 to 9:1 PAV:PAS) prior to RT-PCR amplification and sequencing. The relative amount of RNA template added to a sample was regressed onto the proportion of the chromatogram peak height or area corresponding to one virus species. The function of the best fit line was used to calculate template frequency in the experimental samples.

Spatial Shift in the Utilization of Mental Health Services After Hurricane Sandy Among New York City Residents Enrolled in Medicaid.

OBJECTIVE: Closure of several New York City (NYC) hospitals after Hurricane Sandy caused an unanticipated, extended surge in patient demand at open hospitals. This study identified hospitals with a significant increase in mental-health-related emergency department, inpatient, and outpatient visits from Medicaid patients displaced by Hurricane Sandy. METHODS: NYC Medicaid patients were classified into non-mutually-exclusive geographic categories corresponding to residence in areas served by Bellevue Hospital Center and Coney Island Hospital, the hurricane impact area, and all of NYC. For each geographic region, we compared the observed to the expected number of service visits in the 6 months after the storm. The expected number of visits was calculated from 2-year trends in mental health claims. RESULTS: Twenty-four facilities in all 5 NYC boroughs experienced patient redistribution from storm-affected areas. Eighteen facilities had a concurrent surge in total Medicaid patients, which suggested that redistribution had a greater impact on resource use at these locations. CONCLUSIONS: The redistribution of Medicaid patients after Hurricane Sandy increased mental health service utilization at facilities not near flooded areas. Our findings can aid in surge capacity planning and thereby improve the continuity of mental health care after a natural disaster. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:420-427).

Temporal and Spatial Patterns in Utilization of Mental Health Services During and After Hurricane Sandy: Emergency Department and Inpatient Hospitalizations in New York City.

OBJECTIVE: Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, causing a coastal storm surge and extensive flooding, which led to the closure of several health care facilities in New York City (NYC) and prolonged interruptions in service delivery. The impact on mental health-related emergency department (ED) and inpatient hospital service utilization was studied. METHODS: Data came from the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System. We obtained mental health-related data among NYC residents from 2010 to 2013. Patients were grouped into 5 geographic areas, including service areas of closed hospitals, the Hurricane Sandy evaluation zone, and all of NYC. The Farrington method was used to detect increases in ED visits and hospitalizations for the post-Sandy period. RESULTS: Open hospitals experienced a substantial increase in psychiatric ED visits from patients living in the service areas of closed hospitals. This surge in psychiatric ED visits persisted for 4 to 6 months after Hurricane Sandy. However, the increase in psychiatric hospitalizations was observed for 1 to 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Several NYC hospitals received a substantially larger number of ED patients from service areas of closed hospitals after Hurricane Sandy, unlike other hospitals that experienced a decrease. Because of potential surges in the number of psychiatric ED visits, resource allocation to hospitals should be considered. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:512-517).

Association of housing first implementation and key outcomes among homeless persons with problematic substance use.

OBJECTIVES: Housing First is a supportive housing model for persons with histories of chronic homelessness that emphasizes client-centered services, provides immediate housing, and does not require treatment for mental illness or substance abuse as a condition of participation. Previous studies of Housing First have found reduced governmental costs and improved personal well-being among participants. However, variations in real-world program implementation require better understanding of the relationship between implementation and outcomes. This study investigated the effects of Housing First implementation on housing and substance use outcomes. METHODS: Study participants were 358 individuals with histories of chronic homelessness and problematic substance use. Clients were housed in nine scatter-site Housing First programs in New York City. Program fidelity was judged across a set of core Housing First components. Client interviews at baseline and 12 months were used to assess substance use. RESULTS: Clients in programs with greater fidelity to consumer participation components of Housing First were more likely to be retained in housing and were less likely to report using stimulants or opiates at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Consistently implemented Housing First principles related to consumer participation were associated with superior housing and substance use outcomes among chronically homeless individuals with a history of substance use problems. The study findings suggest that program implementation is central to understanding the potential of Housing First to help clients achieve positive housing and substance use outcomes.

Mobile opioid agonist treatment and public funding expands treatment for disenfranchised opioid-dependent individuals.

The New Jersey Medication Assisted Treatment Initiative (NJ-MATI) sought to reduce barriers to treatment by providing free, opioid agonist treatment (OAT, methadone or buprenorphine) via mobile medication units (MMUs). To evaluate barriers to OAT, logistic regression was used to compare opioid dependent patients enrolled in NJ-MATI to those entering treatment at fixed-site methadone clinics or non-medication assisted treatment (non-MAT). Client demographic and clinical data were taken from an administrative database for licensed treatment providers. The MMUs enrolled a greater proportion of African-American, homeless, and uninsured individuals than the fixed-site methadone clinics. Compared to non-MAT and traditional methadone clients, NJ-MATI patients were more likely to be injection drug users and daily users but less likely to have a recent history of treatment. These observations suggest that the patient-centered policies associated with NJ-MATI increased treatment participation by high severity, socially disenfranchised patients who were not likely to receive OAT.

Within-host competition between barley yellow dwarf-PAV and -PAS.

The PAV and PAS species of barley yellow dwarf virus (Luteoviridae) share hosts, vectors, and have sympatric distributions. To better understand how competition between species influences virus growth within the host, transmission rate between hosts, and ultimately virus population structure two experiments were conducted. The first experiment varied the order of PAV and PAS inoculation and the time interval between the first and second inoculation. Relative virus concentration was measured at 8, 20, 33, and 45 days after primary virus inoculation (dpi). Regardless of the order of inoculation or the length of time between inoculations, PAV dominated the virus population by 33 dpi (PAV concentration ranged from 55% to 89%). The second experiment measured the rate of vector transmission from single and multiple infections. From single infections, the transmission rate was 67% for PAV and 60% for PAS. PAV had significantly greater odds of transmission for all competition treatments-except if PAS was given a 15-day head start before inoculation with PAV. In the latter treatment, PAS was transmitted with a greater frequency than PAV, but the difference was not statistically significant. Our data show persistent co-infection between PAV and PAS, but PAV is more likely to be transmitted from mixed infections. Thus, within-host interactions between PAV and PAS create conditions that promote both the competitive exclusion of PAS, as well as co-existence between species and the maintenance of genetic diversity in the host community.

Population genetics of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis reveals widely dispersed clones and extensive recombination.

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis (SDSE) is an emerging global pathogen that can colonize and infect humans. Although most SDSE isolates possess the Lancefield group G carbohydrate, a significant minority have the group C carbohydrate. Isolates are further sub-typed on the basis of differences within the emm gene. To gain a better understanding of their molecular epidemiology and evolutionary relationships, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis was performed on SDSE isolates collected from Australia, Europe and North America. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The 178 SDSE isolates, representing 37 emm types, segregate into 80 distinct sequence types (STs) that form 17 clonal complexes (CCs). Eight STs recovered from all three continents account for >50% of the isolates. Thus, a small number of STs are highly prevalent and have a wide geographic distribution. Both ST and CC strongly correlate with group carbohydrate. In contrast, eleven STs were associated with >1 emm type, suggestive of recombinational replacements involving the emm gene; furthermore, 35% of the emm types are associated with genetically distant STs. Data also reveal a history of extensive inter- and intra-species recombination involving the housekeeping genes used for MLST. Sequence analysis of single locus variants identified through goeBURST indicates that genetic change mediated by recombination occurred approximately 4.4 times more frequently than by point mutation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A few genetic lineages with an intercontinental distribution dominate among SDSE causing infections in humans. The distinction between group C and G isolates reflects recent evolution, and no long-term genetic isolation between them was found. Lateral gene transfer and recombination involving housekeeping genes and the emm gene are important mechanisms driving genetic variability in the SDSE population.

Selective constraint and genetic differentiation in geographically distant barley yellow dwarf virus populations.

Numerous studies have documented molecular variability in plant virus populations, but few have assessed the relative contribution of natural selection and genetic drift in generating the observed pattern of diversity. To this end, gene function, environment and phylogenetic history were examined to observe the effect on genetic diversity and population structure of the PAV and PAS species of Barley yellow dwarf virus (family Luteoviridae). Three functional classes of gene were analysed: transcription-related (RdRp), structural (CP) and movement-related (MP). The results indicate that there were no inherent differences, in terms of total diversity or diversity at synonymous or non-synonymous nucleotide sites, between functional classes of genes or populations. Rather, selective constraints on a gene may be more or less relaxed depending on its function and the phylogenetic history of the population sampled. The CP of the PAS species, but not the PAV species, was differentiated genetically between regions. This is probably due to genetic drift, as there was no evidence that any gene deviated from a neutral model of evolution or is under positive selection. In general, the MP was under considerably less functional constraint than structural or replication-related proteins and four positively selected codon sites were identified. Mutations at these sites differentiate species and geographical subpopulations, so presumably they have aided the virus in adaptation to its host environment and contributed to intra- and interspecies diversification.